4.5 cm posterior left lower lung nodule

KathyAnn

I am a 5 year tongue cancer survivor recently had a CT scan on abdomen and pelvis. 63 year old female findings on lower chest. The lower bases reveals centrilobular emphysema. Mild subsegmental atelectasis is seen in the lingula. Of 4.5 cm posterior left lower lung subpleural nodule is present. I don't know what all this means do I have lung cancer? Should I have biopsy and whom should I see an oncologist or pulmonologist? I am a twin and live with my twin sister and we take care of our elderly mom who lives with us and we are so close to one another. Could this be benign growth? Please provide your thoughts and feedback. God Bless You all. Thank you for your help and support

eDivebuddy

Sorry you're going through this again. I'm sure this must be really stressful for the three of you.

Most incidental lung findings that appear five years after cancer treatment are benign, especially if there hasn’t been prior lung involvement. There are many possible non-cancerous causes for a lung mass, including scarring, inflammation, or lung diseases like emphysema.
That said, all lung lesions need further evaluation. Given your history and the size of this one, I’d expect the next step to be a PET scan to determine if the mass is metabolically active. If the PET scan shows low uptake, it may be something benign that just needs monitoring. If high uptake is seen, then a biopsy would likely be the next step.
Your CT also shows signs of underlying lung disease, so a pulmonologist should be involved even aside from this mass. If you don’t already have one, I’d strongly recommend seeking one out to review these findings and order the PET scan. If there’s concern for malignancy, an oncologist would likely be involved as well.
It’s great that you have your twin and mom right there for support. I know this isn’t easy on any of you, but you’re not alone. Please keep us updated, and I hope you get clear answers soon.

Also hope all is well for the original reason for the abdominal CT.

KathyAnn

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1721571#Comment_1721571

God Bless You eDivebuddy for your comment it is very helpful and informative for me and my family. I will keep you updated as I have a Pulmonologist appt on Tuesday. God Bless All on the American Cancer Society CSN. Any other feedback would be great appreciated more than you know.

eDivebuddy

Hopefully the pulmonologist went well.

ChimeraKC

I am very curious as to what you hear and do about the emphysema as I was recently diagnosed. I am 71, excellent health, exercise alot, underwent a bone marrow transplant back in '97. Never smoked - my early understanding to date is that all emphysema progresses - no cure - but can be at VERY different rates depending on if you smoked, and what kind of health you are in. Its a real puzzle how non smokers who never were exposed to airborne toxins get emphysema. Thanks for any thoughts.

ChimeraKC

Kathy Ann - also wanted to comment on the tongue cancer. I had lots of rejection in my mouth after my bone marrow transplant for leukemia in 1997 - they found a white mass on my tongue and biopsied it - came back negative but they still decided to remove it. They dont mess with mouth cancer and glad it seems yours is gone. I had lots of leukoplakia but thats down now - the dentist still finds weird looking areas and I always have an oral pathologist look at them. No trouble so far, they all go away. Good luck - all I know about emphysema so far is my Dad used to say - If you are lucky you get lung cancer, ugh. Hey I have had so many years that other dont, I cant get too upset with life threatening diagnoses.

eDivebuddy

I know next to nothing about emphysema. But we all are exposed to airborne pollutants and toxins unless we're living in a bubble. Also emphysema can be an inherited disease. alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency should be checked because not only can you do the normal treatments for symptom control you can get alpha-1 antitrypsin Augmentation Therapy infusions.

ChimeraKC

Thanks for the feedback - yes I read a bit about the genetic cause. Wonder what those fancy treatments cost? Maybe they are covered.

eDivebuddy

I read between 50 and 100k a year covered my Medicare. Less than a months worth of my lung cancer treatments