Brain MRI

[Cristina65]

In an attempt to rule out "MS" my daughter's doctor ordered an MRI of the brain.  She has not seen the doctor yet but she was told by the nurse that her test was not normal because there is a bright area showing and the doctor needs to see her.  She also mentioned that the report states "it could be a mass".  My daughter is very upset and I am looking for information to make her feel at ease.  Seeing that my daughter is so upset and cannot sleep, I telephoned the doctors office and spoke to the nurse.  She said she could not give her more information but if it was something urgent he would have seeing her sooner.

What do you think of all this?  Please advise.

Mary

[Lulu54]

Hi Mary,

I think it is so hard as a parent to see our children possibly ill and definitely upset- I'm so sorry both of you are going through this difficulty.

You don't say how old your daughter is, not that it makes much of a difference..  Did she get a copy of her MRI films and a copy of the radiologi  st's report.  She will want both of those for her records.

If she is just going on the radiologist's report as read to her from the nurse, she probably doesn't know that the radiologist will list EVERYTHING that could possibly be wrong, whether it is likely or not.  I wouldn't think too much about the comment on the mass if the doctor is in no rush to see her.

How much have you read about MS?  You might want to look over our health pages here (yellow icon, upper right side of this page) and learn more. Our health pages cover a wide variety of topics and would also be useful for your daughter to read.  The more you know about this disease, the better prepared she will be in the next round of doctor visits.

Hopefully  your daughter's next appt. isn't too far off and she can get some answer and some sleep soon.

my best,
Lulu

[Quixotic1]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.  What I think is that it was unconscionable for the nurse to relay the possibility of a tumor over the phone and not provide your daughter with a VERY prompt visit.  Stating that you could assume that it is not urgent because the doctor did not say to have her seen immediately is lame, indeed!

I think I would go camp out in the doctor's office and demand a quick visit to explain the mess that the nurse so bumblingly made.

Since the MRI was ordered by a primary care doc, I am concerned that the request might not have included the request to have the MRI done using the MS MRI Protocol.  

No one should have this kind of thing suggested by phone without immediate follow up.

Please keep us informed.  And we will be happy to help answer questions about MS and it's work up for you and your daughter if you stay around.

Quix, MD