Lung scars vs nodules

Laura76

Posts: 49
Joined: Aug 2014

Sep 02, 2014 - 10:04 pm

a little over a month ago I was diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma of the right kidney and had a radical nephrectomy using robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery and removal of a nearby lymphnoid That also came back cancerous

the kidney was only Cancerous And was only contained inside the kidney fat margins were clear

before all this I had a chest xray done at that time A different Dr said Ihad what appeared to be a small scar in the lunga month later after my surgery they did a CAT scan using color contrast of the lung, that wass last week.

doctor called and said the radiologist And he thinks Its a scar but due to the fact that I had cancer it's now being called a suspicious nodule 2 centimeters in size and I have to have a biopsy. Any one else experience the same? what's the difference between a suspicious nodule and a scar ??

dennycee

Posts: 844
Joined: Mar 2011

Sep 02, 2014 - 11:50 pm

You ask a very good question.

With a prior hx of cancer they choose to err on the side of caution. There is always a chance that the anomaly may be cancerous. The only way to be certain is to biopsy it. Although they had clean margins, its possible that stray cells got past the lymph node or moved through the blood system. A hx of one cancer increases the possibility that there will be a second occurrence. At 2their is large enough to biopsy.

If this is a mets from the clear cell, they will treat it as they would kidney cancer. If it is a second primary, they are catching it at an early stage and will be able to surgically remove it.

Laura76

Posts: 49
Joined: Aug 2014

Sep 27, 2014 - 12:54 am