nodules in lungs

loreleim
loreleim Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
Hi, this my first time talking about this so I'm not sure what to say. I have just had a 2nd CT scan that showed I have several (3 & 4) nodules in both my lungs, about 3mm each. I had a CT scan done about 6 months ago and it showed one. I was putting off seening the Pulmonology doctor for fear of the true diagnosis of cancer (my primary care doctor thinks it is )but after reading the posts on this site I have now made an appointment for end of July. Does anyone know if these can be removed? Or what the next step will be ? What does it mean to remove part of the lung- is it just the nodules or more than that? Is that how people end up with oxygen tanks? I'm so terrified, really because I don't want to pass away and leave my children without a mom, I'm 41 years old. Any comment, suggestion, advice etc. would be appricated. I have not told anyone about this so I feel kind of alone in this battle. Thank You

Comments

  • hartmann
    hartmann Member Posts: 26
    #2
    nodules
    HI,

    I think you should probably try to get a follow up ct sooner if possible. If your primary care doc thinks this is cancer then I wouldnt wait (even til the end of July). The sooner it is found the easier it is to treat (if it is cancer, hopefully not). Keep us posted on your results.

    Penny
  • cabbott
    cabbott Member Posts: 1,039 Member
    #3
    What to do
    Take a breath. Then take another and relax a little. I was diagnosed with cancer twice: first with breast cancer in 2002 and then with lung cancer in 2006. I remember when the doctor first said I needed a biopsy for cancer and quite frankly, the first thought that passed through my mind was that I didn't know if I had a month or a year left. All I knew about cancer is that people die from it and now I probably had it. I was scared to death and knew I needed to know more. I decided right then to read like my life depended on it, because I was in my early 40's and I had a son that depended on me. Finding out that cancer was a disease that many, many people live with helped. Getting a treatment plan helped too.

    Here are some things you need to know.

    1.It isn't cancer for sure until the doctor looks at it under a microscope.

    2. Many other lung diseases can cause nodules. Some of those disease can be cured with various medicines, but first they have to be diagnosed. Sometime that requires a biopsy.

    3. If it is cancer, sometimes it can be cured with surgery by removing the lobe the cancer is in.

    4. You have 3 lobes (sections) in your right lung and 2 in your left lung.

    5. You can carry on with normal life activities with one healthy lung though it may take some time to get used to less than two lungs if you were born with two.

    6. Not everyone who has surgery for cancer needs chemotherapy.

    7. If you can't have surgery, you may still be able to lengthen your life by having chemotherapy.

    8. Anything written in a book about cancer is already two or more year old on the first day the book goes into print.

    9. Cancer research progresses so fast that anything over 6 months old is already outdated. (so give up the horror stories you heard as a child about cancer patients and don't freak over someone else's nightmarish experience from 5 years ago!)

    10. Lung surgeries vary ALOT! A thoracic specialist that can do VATS operations can get you back on your feet MUCH faster than a general surgeon.

    Get to the best thoracic specialist you can get to. Get a plan. Fight for your life. Cancer is a disease and doesn't stop growing because you were too busy or too scared to remove it. And come back to post any questions or concerns you have here. That way you won't have to go it alone.

    Good luck!
  • cool49
    cool49 Member Posts: 27
    #4
    hi
    will i had a chest x ray frist and i had nodles in both lungs and they tell u what size they are.in youre case i would take one day at a time get the other scan i get a ct copy of my scan and a couple of what the radlositgist found and youre doctor will get a copy of ctscan to and then he will look at the scan and read what they found mine was cancer in both lungs its rare type no cure for mine is basal cell carcinoma i had one removed 18 years ago from the back of my leg and some how it travel to the lungs.mine came from the skin not from smoking so i tell everyone that goes sun bathing to where sun screenbecause it is rare three hunded cases in the world since 1895.but i think youres might be a infefection.my friend had acouple of nodles and hers was scarr tissue from cig.brostistes and all .so take it one day at a time keep god in youre heart and his grace and faith will get you through it all like he has me and other friendsthat are going through rough times. god blees u i will be praying for u .shirley

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