PeterRS Posted May 22 Posted May 22 23 hours ago, unicorn said: Sorry, but her advice was incorrect. MRI's are effective at finding cysts, even very small ones, but an endoscopic ultrasound is needed to differentiate a cyst (common) from a solid lesion (such as cancer). If there is a solid lesion, an endoscopic biopsy is needed. I fully accept your advice. But if the much cheaper CT scan can spot a cyst, why would a more expensive MRI be required also to find a cyst? I will ask my doctor when I see her next month. Quote
Members unicorn Posted May 22 Members Posted May 22 1 hour ago, PeterRS said: I fully accept your advice. But if the much cheaper CT scan can spot a cyst, why would a more expensive MRI be required also to find a cyst? I will ask my doctor when I see her next month. CT's (unlike regular X-rays) expose patients who receive them with very significant doses of radiation. In fact, the radiation from one abdominal CT increases a patient's risk of developing cancer due to the radiation by 1 in 1000. (A combined Chest/Abdomen CT increases the risk to 1/500!). To receive annual CT's would involve very substantially increasing the risk that the screening itself leads to cancer! I suspect that what your doctor will say is that she just wanted to make sure the cyst (or perhaps mass) isn't getting bigger. However, that is not what the professional guidelines advise. It's also rather dangerous. Pancreatic cancers are among the most fast-growing cancers affecting humans, which is why the only hope of cure is to remove it before it grows. Chest CT scanning is recommended for smokers or former smokers--but it only reduces mortality from non small-cell lung cancers. The mortality from small-cell lung cancers (SCC), another human cancer which spreads with amazing speed, is not reduced by lung cancer screening. Once SCC starts growing, it's game over. If she won't do (or refer you for) endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), I'd get it done elsewhere. floridarob and PeterRS 2 Quote
PeterRS Posted June 8 Posted June 8 On 5/22/2026 at 11:20 AM, PeterRS said: I fully accept your advice. But if the much cheaper CT scan can spot a cyst, why would a more expensive MRI be required also to find a cyst? I will ask my doctor when I see her next month. My specialist today confirmed that @unicorn is 100% correct. I regret I mistook her advice when she first suggested getting annual MRIs. I have in recent months written about the higher prices now being charged for foreigners at public hospitals. Three years ago my specialist's fee for consultation and analysis of the results of an MRI was Bt. 200 at the King Chulalongkorn Hospital. Last year it had risen to Bt. 800. For today I only had a five-minute consultation with no analysis. The fee was Bt. 1,300. That price is virtually in line with public hospitals. unicorn 1 Quote
