Hi Sue, do you recall how long it took for your ground glass opacity to clear after your fungal infection? I have some small ground glass nodules in my lungs found in Sept 2024 and just rechecked Jan 2025. They are still there, unchanged. Next scan is Sept 2025. I was bummed to learn they are still there and was hoping they would be gone. I had covid in Sept 2023. A pretty typical case with heavy cough and took about 2-3 weeks to clear up. Never had an X-ray or anything. Just had the ct scan a year later as a part of low dose lung cancer screening. I am a former smoker and my primary care physician said I should get screened.
Hi Sue, do you recall how long it took for your ground glass opacity to clear after your fungal infection? I have some small ground glass nodules in my lungs found in Sept 2024 and just rechecked Jan 2025. They are still there, unchanged. Next scan is Sept 2025. I was bummed to learn they are still there and was hoping they would be gone. I had covid in Sept 2023. A pretty typical case with heavy cough and took about 2-3 weeks to clear up. Never had an X-ray or anything. Just had the ct scan a year later as a part of low dose lung cancer screening. I am a former smoker and my primary care physician said I should get screened.
Sorry to say, after 7 years of scans, infections, medications and airway clearance I'm unable to remember exactly. And my earlier scans were in a different medical record system that I don't have access to. As best I can recall they were on 2 scans before they cleared up.
Did you consult with a pulmonologist?
Sorry to say, after 7 years of scans, infections, medications and airway clearance I'm unable to remember exactly. And my earlier scans were in a different medical record system that I don't have access to. As best I can recall they were on 2 scans before they cleared up.
Did you consult with a pulmonologist?
Hi Sue, Yes I did. Just to give you a recap on my situation in Sept 2024 I had my first low dose Lung cancer screen. (Im 52 former smoker, quit 15 years ago. My Primary Care doctor recommended it because of my smoking history, as well as the fact that my dad who was also a former smoker passed away from lung cancer in 2016. Needless to say I have PTSD from his experience.) On my Sept 2024 scan they found 4 sub centimeter ground glass nodules in various lobes. Two 4-5mm, one 5-6mm, and one 6-7mm was the largest. They were classified LUNG RADS Category 2 and recommended annual follow up scan. I was afraid to wait that long so I consulted with a pulmonologist in my area that has a great reputation and excellent reviews and feedback with her patients. I visited with her in November. I asked all my questions and explained all my fears due to my family history, smoking history. She looked at my scans and said that only a small number of these things ever become cancer. And that many of them are transient, and can self resolve in a few months, as well as just stay stable and do nothing as they are just artifact left from old infections. She stated that although we can "never say never" or predict if any of these will ever be a cancer she said it is not likely. We will scan you in four months and go from there. So end of Jan 2025 I was scanned again and there was no change. Report said stable previously described sub centimeter nodules compared to 9/24 scan. No significant growth change in interval. No new or enlarging nodules. While I was glad that there has been no growth or nothing new, I was disappointed to learn they are still there. Of course, Dr. Google has led me back down the rabbit hole and told me that persistent nodules have a higher risk of malignancy, ground glass nodules have an indolent course that is slow growing but malignant nonetheless, and that multiple nodules almost always represent cancer in early stages. 🙁 During my second consultation with the pulmonologist after the follow up scan she said, we tend to think of cancer as in one nodule, not multiple nodules, these can stay stable and never grow because they are just artifact, we will continue to monitor with scans annually but that I shouldn't lose any sleep over this, etc. etc. My next scan is September 2025 so approximately 8 months from now. I am anxious person, this is not going to be easy for me. I am trying to cope with the uncertainty. I feel like I am just sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop and it is very depressing. I guess I am just looking for cases where there can still be hope that these things just go away. Wishful thinking :/ I don't know. It sounds like in your case you had illness? I'm guessing maybe you had some symptoms or how did you figure out you had a fungal infection? My pulmonologist said alot of times our bodies fight off infections that never even "made us feel sick" and we wouldn't have even known we had an infection were it not for the "footprint" it left behind. I've had no symptoms. Last time I had covid would have been one year before the Sept scan... Sept 2023 I had a typical covid case, fever for a couple days, then just head congestion and a nasty cough for about 2 weeks. Nothing since then. Thanks for hearing me out. I am glad to know your nodules have resolved for you and hope you never get them again. Wishing you good health!
Hi Sue, Yes I did. Just to give you a recap on my situation in Sept 2024 I had my first low dose Lung cancer screen. (Im 52 former smoker, quit 15 years ago. My Primary Care doctor recommended it because of my smoking history, as well as the fact that my dad who was also a former smoker passed away from lung cancer in 2016. Needless to say I have PTSD from his experience.) On my Sept 2024 scan they found 4 sub centimeter ground glass nodules in various lobes. Two 4-5mm, one 5-6mm, and one 6-7mm was the largest. They were classified LUNG RADS Category 2 and recommended annual follow up scan. I was afraid to wait that long so I consulted with a pulmonologist in my area that has a great reputation and excellent reviews and feedback with her patients. I visited with her in November. I asked all my questions and explained all my fears due to my family history, smoking history. She looked at my scans and said that only a small number of these things ever become cancer. And that many of them are transient, and can self resolve in a few months, as well as just stay stable and do nothing as they are just artifact left from old infections. She stated that although we can "never say never" or predict if any of these will ever be a cancer she said it is not likely. We will scan you in four months and go from there. So end of Jan 2025 I was scanned again and there was no change. Report said stable previously described sub centimeter nodules compared to 9/24 scan. No significant growth change in interval. No new or enlarging nodules. While I was glad that there has been no growth or nothing new, I was disappointed to learn they are still there. Of course, Dr. Google has led me back down the rabbit hole and told me that persistent nodules have a higher risk of malignancy, ground glass nodules have an indolent course that is slow growing but malignant nonetheless, and that multiple nodules almost always represent cancer in early stages. 🙁 During my second consultation with the pulmonologist after the follow up scan she said, we tend to think of cancer as in one nodule, not multiple nodules, these can stay stable and never grow because they are just artifact, we will continue to monitor with scans annually but that I shouldn't lose any sleep over this, etc. etc. My next scan is September 2025 so approximately 8 months from now. I am anxious person, this is not going to be easy for me. I am trying to cope with the uncertainty. I feel like I am just sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop and it is very depressing. I guess I am just looking for cases where there can still be hope that these things just go away. Wishful thinking :/ I don't know. It sounds like in your case you had illness? I'm guessing maybe you had some symptoms or how did you figure out you had a fungal infection? My pulmonologist said alot of times our bodies fight off infections that never even "made us feel sick" and we wouldn't have even known we had an infection were it not for the "footprint" it left behind. I've had no symptoms. Last time I had covid would have been one year before the Sept scan... Sept 2023 I had a typical covid case, fever for a couple days, then just head congestion and a nasty cough for about 2 weeks. Nothing since then. Thanks for hearing me out. I am glad to know your nodules have resolved for you and hope you never get them again. Wishing you good health!
I had a long adventure with lung issues 7-8 years ago - I had asthma (which I tried to ignore for 20 years because I didn't like the drugs), and progressed to repeated bronchitis, a whole winter of coughing, fever, shortness of breath, uncontrolled asthma - was repeatedly treated with antibiotics and nebulizer...finally in the spring a chest x-ray revealed ground glass, many nodules and a condition called Bronchiectasis. Sputum samples revealed two infections - pseudomonas and mycobacteria - that both had to be treated with multiple antibiotics for nearly 2 years. By the end, I guess from all the damage, there was fungus too but I was in no shape for more drugs, so we went with nebs and airway clearance, and if eventually went away.
For 5 years now, I have been infection-free and my CT's are stable, but there is scarring from all that went before. I still do airway clearance to keep my damaged lungs free of infection, and have to be careful not to get respiratory infections, nor to inhale dust, etc.
When my infections were diagnosed, the doc thought they had simmered for many years before they finally got bad enough to have symptoms.
I had many anxious hours during and after the infections, and I understand your PTSD regarding your Dad, but you have already did the best possible thing by quitting smoking. Unless you develop problems, you probably are best served by getting a little exercise when you feel anxious and monitoring according to the recommended schedule.
Let me tell you a little secret - the older you grow, the more of these kinds of possible health issues will crop up - if you get anxious and dive into Dr Google, or the new AI bots every time, you're going to miss out on some of the best years of your life!
Occasionally I have to see a new doc or PT and they always want me to list all of my health issues, surgeries, medications, etc - it's very long and depressing list, and I just don't dwell on it.
Most of our friends, also in the 70's and 80's are in the same situation, but we still manage to enjoy life, travel, try new things, meet new people and try to pretend we're still 30, 40, 50 or 60. My aunt is still kickin' it at 97 - we need an appointment to take her to lunch! 😉
I had a long adventure with lung issues 7-8 years ago - I had asthma (which I tried to ignore for 20 years because I didn't like the drugs), and progressed to repeated bronchitis, a whole winter of coughing, fever, shortness of breath, uncontrolled asthma - was repeatedly treated with antibiotics and nebulizer...finally in the spring a chest x-ray revealed ground glass, many nodules and a condition called Bronchiectasis. Sputum samples revealed two infections - pseudomonas and mycobacteria - that both had to be treated with multiple antibiotics for nearly 2 years. By the end, I guess from all the damage, there was fungus too but I was in no shape for more drugs, so we went with nebs and airway clearance, and if eventually went away.
For 5 years now, I have been infection-free and my CT's are stable, but there is scarring from all that went before. I still do airway clearance to keep my damaged lungs free of infection, and have to be careful not to get respiratory infections, nor to inhale dust, etc.
When my infections were diagnosed, the doc thought they had simmered for many years before they finally got bad enough to have symptoms.
I had many anxious hours during and after the infections, and I understand your PTSD regarding your Dad, but you have already did the best possible thing by quitting smoking. Unless you develop problems, you probably are best served by getting a little exercise when you feel anxious and monitoring according to the recommended schedule.
Let me tell you a little secret - the older you grow, the more of these kinds of possible health issues will crop up - if you get anxious and dive into Dr Google, or the new AI bots every time, you're going to miss out on some of the best years of your life!
Occasionally I have to see a new doc or PT and they always want me to list all of my health issues, surgeries, medications, etc - it's very long and depressing list, and I just don't dwell on it.
Most of our friends, also in the 70's and 80's are in the same situation, but we still manage to enjoy life, travel, try new things, meet new people and try to pretend we're still 30, 40, 50 or 60. My aunt is still kickin' it at 97 - we need an appointment to take her to lunch! 😉
Thank you Sue for your kind and wise encouragement! I do hope I can manage to get ahold of this anxiety in the process of all these scans and surveillance... I do have support and I am a believer so I ultimately believe I will be okay whatever comes. My husband who has lived with me 27 years and knows how I am always reminds me to get a grip on my fears by saying "you can't worry about DYING to the point that it interferes with your LIVING." So alas, here is another opportunity for me to learn to let go of the things I cannot control! I appreciate your reply very much and will continue to post updates in case they are helpful to anyone else. This is a wonderful community of people giving support to each other and a great resource to help us know we are not alone! Wishing you good health!
Hello godfather2, do you mind sharing an update on your scan of your 8mm lung nodule? I find myself in similar wait and monitor situation with 4 nodules seen on a Sept 2024 scan. All four of mine are ground glass. Have you been told if yours is solid or non solid? It's hard to sit here and wait and see if anything becomes of these things. In my research I get anything from less than 1% chance of malignancy all the way up to 50% chance. That's a huge difference! Hoping you are doing well and in good health!
Ground glass means it is Not solid. So if they are All fully Ground Glass, it cannot be solid but translucent. (I have 7 of these in various sizes, we do 6-month CT scans to be sure no growth and also that they are remaining ground glass.
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Hi Sue, do you recall how long it took for your ground glass opacity to clear after your fungal infection? I have some small ground glass nodules in my lungs found in Sept 2024 and just rechecked Jan 2025. They are still there, unchanged. Next scan is Sept 2025. I was bummed to learn they are still there and was hoping they would be gone. I had covid in Sept 2023. A pretty typical case with heavy cough and took about 2-3 weeks to clear up. Never had an X-ray or anything. Just had the ct scan a year later as a part of low dose lung cancer screening. I am a former smoker and my primary care physician said I should get screened.
Sorry to say, after 7 years of scans, infections, medications and airway clearance I'm unable to remember exactly. And my earlier scans were in a different medical record system that I don't have access to. As best I can recall they were on 2 scans before they cleared up.
Did you consult with a pulmonologist?
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1 ReactionHi Sue, Yes I did. Just to give you a recap on my situation in Sept 2024 I had my first low dose Lung cancer screen. (Im 52 former smoker, quit 15 years ago. My Primary Care doctor recommended it because of my smoking history, as well as the fact that my dad who was also a former smoker passed away from lung cancer in 2016. Needless to say I have PTSD from his experience.) On my Sept 2024 scan they found 4 sub centimeter ground glass nodules in various lobes. Two 4-5mm, one 5-6mm, and one 6-7mm was the largest. They were classified LUNG RADS Category 2 and recommended annual follow up scan. I was afraid to wait that long so I consulted with a pulmonologist in my area that has a great reputation and excellent reviews and feedback with her patients. I visited with her in November. I asked all my questions and explained all my fears due to my family history, smoking history. She looked at my scans and said that only a small number of these things ever become cancer. And that many of them are transient, and can self resolve in a few months, as well as just stay stable and do nothing as they are just artifact left from old infections. She stated that although we can "never say never" or predict if any of these will ever be a cancer she said it is not likely. We will scan you in four months and go from there. So end of Jan 2025 I was scanned again and there was no change. Report said stable previously described sub centimeter nodules compared to 9/24 scan. No significant growth change in interval. No new or enlarging nodules. While I was glad that there has been no growth or nothing new, I was disappointed to learn they are still there. Of course, Dr. Google has led me back down the rabbit hole and told me that persistent nodules have a higher risk of malignancy, ground glass nodules have an indolent course that is slow growing but malignant nonetheless, and that multiple nodules almost always represent cancer in early stages. 🙁 During my second consultation with the pulmonologist after the follow up scan she said, we tend to think of cancer as in one nodule, not multiple nodules, these can stay stable and never grow because they are just artifact, we will continue to monitor with scans annually but that I shouldn't lose any sleep over this, etc. etc. My next scan is September 2025 so approximately 8 months from now. I am anxious person, this is not going to be easy for me. I am trying to cope with the uncertainty. I feel like I am just sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop and it is very depressing. I guess I am just looking for cases where there can still be hope that these things just go away. Wishful thinking :/ I don't know. It sounds like in your case you had illness? I'm guessing maybe you had some symptoms or how did you figure out you had a fungal infection? My pulmonologist said alot of times our bodies fight off infections that never even "made us feel sick" and we wouldn't have even known we had an infection were it not for the "footprint" it left behind. I've had no symptoms. Last time I had covid would have been one year before the Sept scan... Sept 2023 I had a typical covid case, fever for a couple days, then just head congestion and a nasty cough for about 2 weeks. Nothing since then. Thanks for hearing me out. I am glad to know your nodules have resolved for you and hope you never get them again. Wishing you good health!
I had a long adventure with lung issues 7-8 years ago - I had asthma (which I tried to ignore for 20 years because I didn't like the drugs), and progressed to repeated bronchitis, a whole winter of coughing, fever, shortness of breath, uncontrolled asthma - was repeatedly treated with antibiotics and nebulizer...finally in the spring a chest x-ray revealed ground glass, many nodules and a condition called Bronchiectasis. Sputum samples revealed two infections - pseudomonas and mycobacteria - that both had to be treated with multiple antibiotics for nearly 2 years. By the end, I guess from all the damage, there was fungus too but I was in no shape for more drugs, so we went with nebs and airway clearance, and if eventually went away.
For 5 years now, I have been infection-free and my CT's are stable, but there is scarring from all that went before. I still do airway clearance to keep my damaged lungs free of infection, and have to be careful not to get respiratory infections, nor to inhale dust, etc.
When my infections were diagnosed, the doc thought they had simmered for many years before they finally got bad enough to have symptoms.
I had many anxious hours during and after the infections, and I understand your PTSD regarding your Dad, but you have already did the best possible thing by quitting smoking. Unless you develop problems, you probably are best served by getting a little exercise when you feel anxious and monitoring according to the recommended schedule.
Let me tell you a little secret - the older you grow, the more of these kinds of possible health issues will crop up - if you get anxious and dive into Dr Google, or the new AI bots every time, you're going to miss out on some of the best years of your life!
Occasionally I have to see a new doc or PT and they always want me to list all of my health issues, surgeries, medications, etc - it's very long and depressing list, and I just don't dwell on it.
Most of our friends, also in the 70's and 80's are in the same situation, but we still manage to enjoy life, travel, try new things, meet new people and try to pretend we're still 30, 40, 50 or 60. My aunt is still kickin' it at 97 - we need an appointment to take her to lunch! 😉
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4 ReactionsThank you Sue for your kind and wise encouragement! I do hope I can manage to get ahold of this anxiety in the process of all these scans and surveillance... I do have support and I am a believer so I ultimately believe I will be okay whatever comes. My husband who has lived with me 27 years and knows how I am always reminds me to get a grip on my fears by saying "you can't worry about DYING to the point that it interferes with your LIVING." So alas, here is another opportunity for me to learn to let go of the things I cannot control! I appreciate your reply very much and will continue to post updates in case they are helpful to anyone else. This is a wonderful community of people giving support to each other and a great resource to help us know we are not alone! Wishing you good health!
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Helpful -
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2 ReactionsGround glass means it is Not solid. So if they are All fully Ground Glass, it cannot be solid but translucent. (I have 7 of these in various sizes, we do 6-month CT scans to be sure no growth and also that they are remaining ground glass.
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