1 cm lung cancer tumor with COPD & emphysema: Anxious

Hello Frank............"He referred to it as COPD without benefit of PFT. "........ that is unfortunate. Have you read the X-ray? That would only be the beginning. One needs a CT scan.
Spirometry/Pulmonary function tests are needed to determine if symptoms are caused by a lung condition such as asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema or pulmonary fibrosis,
They clarify if obstructive (COPD) or restrictive (pulmonary fibrosis). Doctor needs to know how to interpret the results (below is an example).

My view is that before medicine is art, one needs to have a solid foundation and sufficient experience in the area of concern. Art is then educated guessing. I see a PCP as a doctor who has a broad background but does not have depth in any one area. They are the first "medical line" and handle common issues and direct bigger issues to the correct specialist. My PCP is noteworthy because he is not afraid to say he does not know something. When I asked him if I should switch osteoporosis drug, he said he did not know, and I should see an Endocrinologist. I did and learned that contrary to normal practice I should stay on my current drug because it has anti-bone tumor properties, and I have cancer. That was a valuable piece of information!

Pulmonary function test interpretation example: Spirometry and the calculation of FEV1/FVC allows the identification of obstructive or restrictive ventilatory defects. A FEV1/FVC < 70 % where FEV1 is reduced more than FVC signifies an obstructive defect. Common examples of obstructive defects include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. The FEV1 can be expressed as a percentage of the predictive value which allows classification of the severity of the impairment. An FEV1/FVC > 70% where FVC is reduced more so than FEV1 is seen in restrictive defects such as interstitial lung diseases (e.g. idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) and chest wall deformities.
Take care!

Frank,
You said doctor talked to you for more than one hour and 10 minutes, my appointment with my pulmonologist this Tuesday 2/4 telling me the biopsy result is malignant and he was in hurry to leave after I asked the tissue for genetics mutation examination.
After I came home, the nurse called to make appointment with a surgeon.
Helen

Amen!,,, Don’t you love doctors who can’t stay in their lane!!!!!
I was having a lot of problems with a high rate and my oncologist chalked it up chemo radiation. after 3 months I said refer to a cardiologist. Maybe it was more than his obvious assumption. They did tests on me::::all good but did start me on med that worked on my heart rate.
Fast forward to now ….problems with shortness of breath. yes I have food copd confirmed with Pft 2 years ago. Anyway,what does my oncologist do?.. Puts me on dexa, saline inhalation for my nebulizer. Does he tell me to go my pulmonologist……nope!,,,
he is a great oncologist……NOT a pulmonologist,,,
I questioned him and he said that most patients want him to treat them for all their comorbidities not just their cancer. I think that’s so wrong. What everis wrong is the patient they should see a doctor for whatever is wrong with him .I think it’s really important to separate out your different issues even if your doctor seems to think that he wants to take them all on as ifhe is a trained in all these other specialties. Become a soapbox issue for me because I’m also suffering right now they told me from Malnourishment, so what do they do? They send in someone and tells me I should go home and make myself a smoothie do things like that? Absolutely no help no menu no no clue what to cook how to put on weight. Losing muscle mass no help with that. I came home in the more I thought about it is piss me off. I have an appointment with my regular GP who I’ve had for years on Wednesday. I need to get with the dietitian. I need to get with PT and start doing some kind of therapy to build up his muscle before I lose more. Mention any of that to me nope. Scary thing is I’m in EmoryCancer Center, Winship Cancer Center in Atlanta.

Lisa, yes it is easy to say the cause is the second hand smoke, that was how I felt when doctor said so. I have been always eat healthy, avoid toxics. I found out this serious disease accidentally.
I had a dear friend who died two year ago from Adeno lung cancer. She was healthy, a non smoker, non wine drinker.
She had target therapy for about 5 years, she told me that was genetic mutation.
Lisa, do you have side effect from oral medication?
Doctor did not say the tissue will send to lab, not until I mentioned the generic mutation. I hope he will do so.
2/12 is the consultant with surgeon, then he will schedule the surgery afterwards.
I appreciate that you contacted me. That made me feel someone’s there paying attention to my concerns.
Helen

@hch559, It sounds like you are on the right track, and it's good that your appointment with the surgeon is next week already. I have some side effects from my targeted therapy treatment, but I have been able to make some changes in my life to work around them. When I look at the alternatives, I know that I have been very fortunate. Take care of yourself over these next few days of waiting.

That is just great information
BRAVA

Helen:

My meeting with the pulmonologist was the exception my typical experience. It took me month to get an appointment with the surgeon who kept me.waiting 2 hours. It took 2 weeks to get my scan back then another 2 weeks for the pet then another month to schedule the surgery. It is a frustrating and burdensom process. The only person who is in a hurry is the patient. Medical people are human. They have vacations. People in their families who are sick. Too many patients and not enough time.

I took my car into the mechanic who is a friend of mine. He told me he couldn't get to it for two weeks. This is just a fact of life

My neighbor is a physician and we are good friends. She's 47
I saw her the other day and noticed she lost a lot of weight. She told me she has been terribly anxious having a 2 cm mass on her ovaries and her doctors want her to wait. She is a doctor and her husband a radiologist who questioned the report of the radiologist as being not thorough.
We live in a system. The system does not allow for interaction as far as I can tell. I mentioned my experience like someone would mention seeing a cow jump over the moon.
It is what it is. My pcp tells me, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. He tells me to have sharp elbows when dealing with being seen. After 2 months I am having surgery. It is all I care about in my situation. I don't need to know details about things too complicated for me to understand. Doctors are not my friends. It would be nice if they were but they are people who are doing a job. Some of them are just managing conditions.
Another friend of mine is a doctor, an orthopedist. We are very close. He is much younger. He tells me his philosophy is hurry up and treat them before they heal themselves. It takes 2 months to get an appointment with him. If I need to see him I just walk in the door and take him to lunch. There is a great deal of randomness in this procession to healing or being a professional patient.
It is a frustrating process sometimes. All of us here have been through it i am sure.

Wr are with you in spirit and know that you can navigate it too.

Love,

Frank

Frank, thank you for response. I think I was kind of lack of experience dealing with medical issues.
Before this all I needed was annual physical checkups.
I am 75, find out this disease by accident.
Now I understand when my friends told me their difficulty to make appointments with their doctors.
I think I am in good hands. Just a couple weeks ago, I placed a phone call to a interventional pulmonologist office. the nurse immediately did the necessary actions, scheduled me an appointment with doctor, then biopsy procedure, then the date to see the surgeon.
Thank you for getting in touch with me.
Helen