Am petrified of what I might be told

Dellsbells

Today is Monday 2 July 2012. I have an appointment tomorrow for the results of a lung biopsy 22.06.12 & PET scan 29.06.12 & my head is spinning, I would really appreciate some advice to help calm my nerves if anyone has a similar experience please :-)

Two weeks ago I went for a control thorasic MRI, I have a long history of bad bouts of bronchitis accompanied with a horrendous, deep, painful cough & last Feb 2011 I was admitted to hospital through ER having woken at 3am withthemost horrific stabbing pains in my left chest (was not ill prior), diagnosed with severe lung & kidney infection, kept on oxygen, intravenous antibiotics & fluids for 5 days discharged after scan they said was fine. Took another week or so till I felt better, I felt brilliant for a while but during the summer I noticed that I was constantly waking up with a sore throat, not every day, but it was a constant, I then noticed that I wasn't just coughing on accasion, but coughing every day. Very dry harsh deep cough which didn't produce phlegm every time, but maybe 3 to 6 times a day. Didn't doanyhing about it as I know I have hyper sensitive airways (do not have asthma), also have had horrible family tragedy followed by another & further issues more important than my stupid cough & constantly feeling unwell, so jusycarried on with life. in April this year itbecame impossible for me to eat or drink without having a major coughing/choking fit, often including severe wretching. This continued for about 6 weeks till it cleared.
However cough has continued day in day out, choking & wretching, so while at Dr's for unrelated issue, mentioned my concerns, she suggested a control scan as had not been done since being released from hospital.
So, 01.06.12 MRI caried out, consultant at clinic told me that they had found something in my left lung that obviously shouldnt be there and to see my GP asap to be referred for a biopsy etc. Saw my Dr that afternoon, was referred for emergency apt. With pulmonary specialist at hospital 10.30 following morning she said she believed it to be a latent infection, however it is on an xray from 2007 that was not picked up at the time, so she put into procedure all the necessary tests urgently and here I am now waiting for tomorrow ! What is freaking me out so much is that PET scans seem to be solely for cancer diagnosis, is there anyone who has had lung spots/scarring/dead tissue, collapsed trachea and has been diagnosed clear after PET scan ? Apologies for long post :-)

Dellsbells

My brain is in such turmoil
My brain is in such turmoil I forgot to give the most important information.

I am age 47, female & a non smoker, however I grew up and worked in family hotel so had extensive & quite extreme exposure to smoke from age of 6 !

Ex_Rock_n_Roller

Dellsbells said:

My brain is in such turmoil
My brain is in such turmoil I forgot to give the most important information.

I am age 47, female & a non smoker, however I grew up and worked in family hotel so had extensive & quite extreme exposure to smoke from age of 6 !

The only advice I can give ...
... is to try not to get ahead of yourself and jump to the worst conclusion. It could be cancer, but there are a lot of non-cancer things that can go wrong with lungs. They need the PET scan to help rule out cancer as much as to rule it in.

Whatever the answer, not knowing about it isn't going to help you. If I were you, I'd be going out and having a few of my favorite drink, a nice dinner, and whatever other leisure activity would help to get my mind off tomorrow. Unfortunately, there's no magic trick to this. Distraction can work.

All the best of luck to you!

Dellsbells

Ex_Rock_n_Roller said:

The only advice I can give ...
... is to try not to get ahead of yourself and jump to the worst conclusion. It could be cancer, but there are a lot of non-cancer things that can go wrong with lungs. They need the PET scan to help rule out cancer as much as to rule it in.

Whatever the answer, not knowing about it isn't going to help you. If I were you, I'd be going out and having a few of my favorite drink, a nice dinner, and whatever other leisure activity would help to get my mind off tomorrow. Unfortunately, there's no magic trick to this. Distraction can work.

All the best of luck to you!

Thanks for that, was trying
Thanks for that, was trying my best to keep things in perspective, but it got the better of me this morning. It actually helped that I put it all down in black & white, I needed to get it out of my head, then I took your advice and distracted myself with the dogs, some gardening & cooking.
Que sera sera, what will be, will be :-)
Thanks again.

cabbott

Dellsbells said:

Thanks for that, was trying
Thanks for that, was trying my best to keep things in perspective, but it got the better of me this morning. It actually helped that I put it all down in black & white, I needed to get it out of my head, then I took your advice and distracted myself with the dogs, some gardening & cooking.
Que sera sera, what will be, will be :-)
Thanks again.

Lung stuff
The best of doctors with the best of tests can't diagnose cancer until they see it under a microscope. I have spoken to more than one person that went into major surgery expecting cancer and came out with a need for antibiotics or other meds. My own surgeon told me stories of being wrong about the cancer and finding other problems. Mind you, infections are nothing to play around with especially when they are affecting vital organs like your lungs. So make your appointments and see the best doctor you can to get this taken care of. Remind yourself as many times as necessary that it is not cancer until they see it under a microscope. And even if it is cancer, it can be treated. Good luck! Keep us posted.