Fluid-filled cysts common, benign

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a 78-year-old white male, fairly active, walking 8 to 10 miles a week and consider myself in good but not perfect health. I had seed implants in my prostate 3 years ago with no symptoms prior to or since. (I was in a Proscar drug study for seven years.) My PSA is .187. I recently had some very painful stomach upset on consecutive Fridays prompting my internists to order a CT scan of abdomen and pelvis and later a colonoscopy. Well, there was a little blood on the tissue a couple of times. A small benign polyp was removed and some diverticulosis was noted. The scan showed “multiple bilateral renal cysts and multiple hypodense lesions scattered throughout the liver.” Heart and lung test results are all within normal limits. My primary care physician minimized the cyst and lesions. My question, am I still in good health? What’s the significance of the lesions and cysts?

Dear Reader: Fluid-filled cysts, which are common and benign, can readily form in almost any organ and may be discovered by accident during scanning studies.

In your case, the doctors were probably searching for a malignant lesion that you don’t have. The radiologist diagnosed “multiple renal cysts” because the fluid in these cysts was clearly evident in the CT scan. He was a little more cautious about the liver, however, by characterizing the liver lesions are “hypodense,” meaning that they may or may not contain fluid (or fat) but do not appear to be “solid” (composed of cancer or other tissues).

I believe that your PCP handled the situation appropriately and that you remain in good health. Were you my patient, I’d probably order a hepatic ultrasound test (to confirm the CT findings) and – if everything checks out well – I would monitor the situation with repeat ultrasound or CT scanning in a year or so.

That, obviously, is a decision you should make with your doctor’s help and advice.

Dear Dr. Gott: My father told me about your “no flour, no sugar diet,” and it worked really well for me. I lost 15 pounds in about a month and a half. I like this diet better than the Atkins diet because it’s a lot easier, and it feels better on my body. When I was on Atkins, I could feel my arteries getting clogged, and I always felt short of breath. I’ve never felt that way before.

My problem is I’m stuck. I’ve been stuck for a couple of weeks now. I wanted to know how I could get over this hump. My mother and sister have the exact problem. They too have both lost about 15 pounds each. Is there anything we can do? Are there more details to the diet we need to know about?

Dear Reader: People on any diet will not lose weight every week; sometimes the weight-loss rate flattens out for a time – what you properly termed “the hump.”

Don’t be discouraged. Continue the diet, modify your portions, keep exercising and don’t snack. Eventually you will shed those unwanted pounds.