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lung nodule
since October, lung nodule in right mid lobe base has grown from 15 mm x 5 mm x 8 mm. to now ( April 20, 2024) 17mm x 9mm x 14mm. plus its margins are now described as questionable spiculated. it is non calcified. it is new finding was not there a gear ago.
no indication of soread, lymph nodesc are fine. when this new nodule was first discivered , i was given options of wait and see if changes, remove nodule or biopsy, i chose wait and with scabs, bkth CT aND pet now with mist fecent and fifth scan suggestion is another Oet ( would be sixth scan both Pet and CT)
ive asked doctor for biopsy. any thoughts if that is best decision? im tired if not knowing and want it out to be safe.
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Hi,
My doctor is recommending a PET/Scan
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I found my 1.5 cm smooth nodule on LRL by accident. Saw a top Chief Professor of Thoracic surgery at University of Chicago theat specializes in LC.. She did a CT, FDG PET and Gallium Dontatate 68 PET. Nothing lit up. She said sone my last Chest CT was done on 10/17 and this nodule was not there she cannot tell if it grew fast or slowing since then. She advised that instead of me going under GA twice, once being ION biopsy and second VATS, she recommended removing it. She said it could be anything, including scar or a Carcinoid/Neuroendocrine because it’s smooth that just didn’t lit up. I do have a history of smoking 1/2 pack for 39 years and quit 13 years ago. I am scheduled for VATS this Monday. Your thoughts please? I feel if I don’t I will worry every day about a sudden growth or change if it comes up benign after frozen biopsy during surgery.
I had my RUL adenocarcinoma nodule removed at Mayo with a wedge resection and I was 80. They looked at the local CT scan and the PET scan and suggested combo biopsy and surgery to avoid me going under GA twice. The surgeon (chair of Mayo Thoracic surgery) told me that it was 80 percent chance to be cancer. They have experience in seeing these things. I thought that one night in the hospital with VAT wedge resection was not that bad and I wanted my lung cancer gone! I was driving my car in a week. The benefit of surgery is that then they can do analysis and tell you what it is. But they have to consider your overall lung capacity, you need enough reserve as surgery makes you lose a little capacity.
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1 ReactionThank you, I am so darn nervous! She said 3 hours! I think I will be able to get out the next day. My surgeon feels optimistic and it will be malignant, but if anything Carcinoid and the it wasn’t enough for the PET scan to light it up. Thanks again, you are making me feel calmer.
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1 ReactionHappy if you feel better.
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1 ReactionSimilar experience here… smoked 30 years, quit for 10, picked up again 5 years ago and my pulmonologist found 2.5cm x1.5 x 2.5cm2 years ago… PET didn’t light up, 1st biopsy inconclusive… had another biopsy Oct24 and the cryogenic biopsy showed it to be cancer.
Removed in Dec24, still recovering today… lymph’s were clean , toughest part was sensitivity of the skin on my belly near the surgery area.
Just relieved cancer is gone and all appears to be good 😊
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3 ReactionsMy Thoracic Surgeon felt because of smoking history in the past that whether or not the 1.5 cm nodule comes out benign it should come out anyways. It wasn’t there on my 10/17 CT and she said she didn’t want to want and watch and I agreed. So I had VATS on Monday and frozen biopsy done then. No Cancer in node or lymph, but removed the nodule. There were a small amount of undetermined cells. Pathology said they couldn’t determine if cancer or not and is why she continued with biopsy of lymphs then closed me up. Good luck with yours. It sounds as though yours was caught early.
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3 ReactionsI was also told that the muscle the cut through will take some time for that feeling to go away. I heard like 6 months. My back and side feels like that along with the ribs she worked through. That will be sore for a while. People that have full Lobectomy/Thoracotomy they get some neurotomy and I heard it can take a few years.
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1 ReactionThanks… and yes caught early!! Wishing you the best w your procedures
Thanks, I’m doing well. 5 days post surgery.