12 mm Spiculated Nodule upper right lobe
May 2022- they found an incidental nodule in my right upper lobe. The CT impression said 8 mm ground-glass could be a low-grade malignancy. A month later, I had another CT which said that there was no significant interval change 6 mm upper lobe pulmonary nodule.
July 2023-I had a follow up CT scan. Impression 12x7 mm slightly spiculated. Malignancy cannot be excluded. I was referred to a thoracic surgeon who also couldn’t rule out cancer and said that it would be very difficult to get a biopsy because of the location. The test could come back negative, but they wouldn’t be sure that they really got it from the right area. He recommended removing it and biopsy it. Probably a partial lobectomy but he wouldn’t know for sure till he got in there. He could end up removing the entire upper lobe. Does anyone have experience with this? I decided to wait.
February 2024--I just had another CT scan about 2 weeks ago. 1.2 x 0.7 x 0.8 cm spiculated nodule in the right upper lobe not significantly changed since July 2023 but has increased in size since May 2022. This nodule remains suspicious, and PET/CT may be considered for further evaluation.
I’m having a PET/CT scan done next week. I’m so scared about everything. Most people say, just have it removed. Is this really the best option? What will the PET/CT scan show. How long does it take to get back to “normal” after having a surgery like this? It would be a minimally invasive procedure.
Also, I’m reading that there is a much higher chance of it being malignant when it’s found in the upper lobe?
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Lung Cancer Support Group.
I’m only a week out from surgery, so I’m not sure if it gets worse. So far so good, feeling a little
nerve tweaking here and there but I guess that’s what to expected. No big deal yet. They did give me a nerve block before the surgery. Gabapentin is supposed to help with that too. That medication wasn’t for me though. I didn’t like it and only had it twice during my hospital stay.
@joaniepnw, you may appreciate these related discussions:
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Hello Joaniepnw,
Having a nerve block for your VAT lung surgery is the way to go in my opinion……..it numbs the pain on the side they will do the surgery on. Make sure to ask your surgeon about it. Your recovery from the surgery should go smooth…..just a couple of days in the hospital.
Good luck!
Good for you!! As I think I told you, mine was at 6mm when we discovered it, and my doc and I watched it grow 1 mm a year - until 2023 when it grew 5mm. So out it came. S1N0.
I’m thrilled for you!!