Thanks, Everyone. I greatly appreciate all of the support and information.

It's kinda difficult to get the hang of how and where these replies are posted, so I'll do my best.

After meeting with the doc who did the bronchoscopy, I am now confident in the cancer team - as I had done as suggested here and got his off-the-record opinion of the cancer team, and he said he would absolutely recommend them to his own brother should he be in my situation. That, coupled with the fact that my insurance is very narrow and my options would be limited. This is likely the strongest cancer center within 200 miles in my state.

As for the process itself - A needle biopsy would be guided by IR. The Bronch Doc said that the bleeding issues I had would NOT be a factor in an IR guided procedure, because they would be navigating directly to the mass, and not have to worry about visual navigation like he did. The only major complication to worry about with the needle biopsy would be an "air leak" in the lung afterwards, which is not minimal.

To me, it now makes sense to go ahead with the needle biopsy. Here's why: We meet the oncologist Friday for her opinion. But, if things don't change, it only makes sense to do a minimally invasive, fact gathering mission to determine the content of the mass.

If the mass is benign, then wait for more information over time. If it is malignant, then go for the wedge resection (correct term?). During the wedge removal, they would view on the spot if it was all removed, or do a lobeectomy on the spot.

To me, it does not now make sense to jump over the needle discovery portion and dive head first into things that come with much bigger potential issues.

Thanks again for all the help. Please let me know if you feel this information makes sense or not.