1. < Lung Cancer

12 mm Spiculated Nodule upper right lobe

Posted by joannamountain24 @joannamountain24, Feb 19 8:38am

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?

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pb50 | @pb50 | Feb 19 3:11pm

Well first I should mention I’m older than dirt. So if you’re young then you can expect a more vigorous response I would think.

I had a nodule in the left lower
Lobe that my pulmonologist and I had been watching for four years.
It grew only about 1 mm a year and the PET scan wasn’t impressive - it barely reacted. So we kept watching and in April 2023 the CT showed it had grown 5mm from 9 to 14 in that year. The doc said there was only a 25% chance it was malignant but he would biopsy it in surgery and if it was malignant, he would remove the whole lobe. ‘Get it out’ is the gold standard. I did ok but 9 mos later I still have shortness of Breath and rib/ diaphragm pain when I take a deep breath. Frustrating. But we persevere.

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jannam | @jannam | Feb 20 1:15pm

Because of the size and chance of malignancy, I would have it removed!

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jannam | @jannam | Feb 20 1:18pm

The removal of my left tumor was an easier recovery than the removal of my right tumor. The doctor had to go in further because of location and Recovery for me was several weeks.

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vic83 | @vic83 | Feb 20 5:20pm

I had a similar situation in November 2021. I had an abnormal chest x-ray followed by a CT scan that indicated ground glass part solid nodule in the right upper lobe which was "concerning for scarring, cancer or both". I did a PET scan one week later which indicated two nodules (different lungs) with significant uptick . The PET scan also indicated that there was no evidence of any other cancer in my body so no metastasis. CT scan and PET scan provide different information.
My local Pulmonologist wanted to do a needle biopsy, but their radiologist said he was not comfortable doing it-too risky. I sent my scans to Mayo and was called by the Mayo Pulmonologist. Mayo knew what I had and proposed VAT surgery. The Mayo surgeon said 80% chance it was cancer. Mayo was implementing a program to do bronchoscopy biopsy and surgical removal in one sitting. I did that and in fact it was cancer (stage 1b). I had a wedge resection of right upper lobe. They told me one night in the hospital so I figured it could not be too bad. I stayed two nights - I was 80 and weak from lack of food. Otherwise, it was easy surgery, and I was driving my car one week later. I stopped all pain medication within four days of surgery.

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2 replies
joannamountain24 | @joannamountain24 | Feb 20 5:40pm
In reply to @vic83 "I had a similar situation in November 2021. I had an abnormal chest x-ray followed by..." + (show)
@vic83

I had a similar situation in November 2021. I had an abnormal chest x-ray followed by a CT scan that indicated ground glass part solid nodule in the right upper lobe which was "concerning for scarring, cancer or both". I did a PET scan one week later which indicated two nodules (different lungs) with significant uptick . The PET scan also indicated that there was no evidence of any other cancer in my body so no metastasis. CT scan and PET scan provide different information.
My local Pulmonologist wanted to do a needle biopsy, but their radiologist said he was not comfortable doing it-too risky. I sent my scans to Mayo and was called by the Mayo Pulmonologist. Mayo knew what I had and proposed VAT surgery. The Mayo surgeon said 80% chance it was cancer. Mayo was implementing a program to do bronchoscopy biopsy and surgical removal in one sitting. I did that and in fact it was cancer (stage 1b). I had a wedge resection of right upper lobe. They told me one night in the hospital so I figured it could not be too bad. I stayed two nights - I was 80 and weak from lack of food. Otherwise, it was easy surgery, and I was driving my car one week later. I stopped all pain medication within four days of surgery.

Jump to this post

Thank you for sharing. It makes me feel more at ease. My PET is next week. 57 years old.

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1 reply
whahoo | @whahoo | Feb 21 9:40am

“Spiculated” is the key. Do the PET scan with the red dye stuff. That will tell if the spot is taking up glucose. Best of luck to you.

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joannamountain24 | @joannamountain24 | Feb 21 10:05am
In reply to @whahoo "“Spiculated” is the key. Do the PET scan with the red dye stuff. That will tell..." + (show)
@whahoo

“Spiculated” is the key. Do the PET scan with the red dye stuff. That will tell if the spot is taking up glucose. Best of luck to you.

Jump to this post

Thank you 🙏

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vic83 | @vic83 | Feb 21 11:07am
In reply to @joannamountain24 "Thank you for sharing. It makes me feel more at ease. My PET is next week...." + (show)
@joannamountain24

Thank you for sharing. It makes me feel more at ease. My PET is next week. 57 years old.

Jump to this post

I forgot to add that the other nodule that lighted up on PET scan was in the left upper load and I had it removed in May 2023 with VAT surgery wedge resection - 16 months later. No biopsy necessary and it was cancer. I have multifocal lung cancer with other nodules that they watch.

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1 reply
jannam | @jannam | Feb 23 7:39pm
In reply to @vic83 "I forgot to add that the other nodule that lighted up on PET scan was in..." + (show)
@vic83

I forgot to add that the other nodule that lighted up on PET scan was in the left upper load and I had it removed in May 2023 with VAT surgery wedge resection - 16 months later. No biopsy necessary and it was cancer. I have multifocal lung cancer with other nodules that they watch.

Jump to this post

Doctors are watching me too!

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jannam | @jannam | Feb 23 7:42pm
In reply to @vic83 "I had a similar situation in November 2021. I had an abnormal chest x-ray followed by..." + (show)
@vic83

I had a similar situation in November 2021. I had an abnormal chest x-ray followed by a CT scan that indicated ground glass part solid nodule in the right upper lobe which was "concerning for scarring, cancer or both". I did a PET scan one week later which indicated two nodules (different lungs) with significant uptick . The PET scan also indicated that there was no evidence of any other cancer in my body so no metastasis. CT scan and PET scan provide different information.
My local Pulmonologist wanted to do a needle biopsy, but their radiologist said he was not comfortable doing it-too risky. I sent my scans to Mayo and was called by the Mayo Pulmonologist. Mayo knew what I had and proposed VAT surgery. The Mayo surgeon said 80% chance it was cancer. Mayo was implementing a program to do bronchoscopy biopsy and surgical removal in one sitting. I did that and in fact it was cancer (stage 1b). I had a wedge resection of right upper lobe. They told me one night in the hospital so I figured it could not be too bad. I stayed two nights - I was 80 and weak from lack of food. Otherwise, it was easy surgery, and I was driving my car one week later. I stopped all pain medication within four days of surgery.

Jump to this post

Are you having any pain now with the nerves surrounding the tumor that was removed?

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