Adrenal Mass?

Question

When i was 8 i went to the hospital because i kept going to the toilet too much to pee. I was checked up etc and i had to go back again in 6 months but we moved and the toiletting passed so we didnt bother. 5 years on, While at the hospital for that the doctor asked if i had had any previous illnesses and my mum told him about the toilet thing and he said we need to get it checked up. i went for a ct scan the other week and apparently i have an adrenal mass which has grown since i was 8. I've had 2 blood tests.. Which i am scared of.. And what can adrenal masses do to you? Can you die from them?
And how can you calm yourself down about blood tests?
Thanks

Other than a lump.. Can it kill you? Does it make you angrier than normal people?

Answer 1

An adrenal mass is essentially a lump (mass) on the adrenal gland (hormone secreting gland on top of your kidney). It's a bit hard to know what it means unless the doctors can tell you what kind of tissue it is ... whether it is inert and just going to sit there and do nothing, or if it is going to release hormones, or if it is going to be a growing +/- invading kind of mass.

So there are some adrenal masses that don't matter, and there are some that need operations to take out.

The ones that don't matter ... well ... they don't matter. There's a whole bunch of them. They have terrible sounding names (take your time learning to say them) but mostly are minor nuisances or you might never have known they were there at all!

The other ones that can make hormones and make your blood pressure high, or especially the NASTY ones that can grow and invade into your kidney or other places (in your tummy and elsewhere!). They need to come out before they do nasty stuff to you. Some of these ones can kill you.

You'll need to ask your doctor which one it is ... and maybe see if they can explain to you in simple terms.

Blood tests - well nobody likes blood tests - sort of like how nobody likes mosquito bites. The GOOD thing about blood tests is that you sort of know when you are going to have one. If you talk with the doctor / your parents / your phlebotomist (blood taking person) maybe you can see about getting some special cream to numb the skin before you have the blood test.

All adrenal masses are rare. You've got one. Now it's a matter of finding out what it is, what it does, and what you guys need to do about it. Talk with your doctor.

Perhaps you could get an adult whom you trust to read through some of this with you and explain it a bit better.

Some of the masses that make hormones can affect your moods. (On the other hand - you are a teenager!)

Given that you have had some progression but not a full blown nasty illness over the course of 5 years with a lump known to be there, it is highly unlikely to be one of the very nasty types (cancer). It is more likely to be one of the Benign types.

But sort it out with your doctor.