Multiple lung nodules: Might they be noncancerous? What next?

Vic..if you are on an anticoagulant for blockage it would have to be stopped before any surgery....Is the stent working well enough for you to go off the med for surgery??? I have heart issues too (15 years ago major heart attack) and it complicates everything but I went off the blood thinners a few weeks before I had the LLL surgery.

What is a "link". My first cancer (stage 1b) removed in Dec 2021 is 20 years after I quit. I guess I did well to quit then

Thanks for welcome. The most concerning mass was removed 12/29/21. Pathology report says Moderately differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma, 3.1 cm mass., Visceral pleural invasion absent, surgical margin is negative, lymph nodes negative. A PET scan from 4 weeks before surgery showed no indication of cancer throughout body. So defined as a stage 1b because of size (less than 3cm to be state 1a). But I have other things to watch in lungs. I read all the reports and google all the medical terms. I would just like to have an idea of how things will play out, how often the scans, potential for new developments and potential treatment. I need to plan for the future. I would like to also plan for some vacation. Unfortunately, I also discovered in December that I have a single 70% cardiac artery blockage. So management is critical. With stents, one is on medication that prohibits surgery for significant time. Something one does not want to do with lung cancer!!!
I am on medication for blockage now because had they put in the stent I would not have been able to remove the cancer, and stent would not have been much useful then! Turns out that a study came out that shows people on medication do as well as people with stent. So I want a clear understanding of what my risks and options are.

I'm at the best on the east coast. Thanks! Enjoy your weekend!

I will let you know more about this next week after my CT scan....I had bronchoscopies and biopsies when first diagnosed and I am not sure why I had so many different diagnostic procedures (3 growths back then...) but I think one of the nodules then (as now) was somewhere on my right lung. It was not cancer then. I hope you are working with a cancer facility like Mayo, Moffitt (me), MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering. Good luck to us both.

I had a needle biopsy, mid upper left lung. The procedure was by my pulmonologist, which surprised the thoracic surgeon. I had an extreme amount of anxiety leading up to it. I have had many surgeries in my life, but not many on a vital organ. After some light sedation med to relax, the procedure was done laying on my side on a CT table. They numbed the area and began with a few scans, next began inserting the needle/tube a little bit at a time going back and forth for scans making sure the needle was headed to the nodule. At a couple intervals in the back and forth she added more local numbing meds as insertion continued. Once she was in the nodule a tool was inserted into the tube to the nodule to bite out a few chucks. They got some from the middle and edges. Within a day, I knew the results.

When I had the wedge resection surgery to remove two of the nodules, because they were small and ground glass, they had to insert a tracer into them before the surgery. Same type of procedure, but putting in instead of taking out. That one they did numb up the area a few times, but did not give me any relaxing medicine first. Super freaky, but I managed by thinking about about a really great memory from a couple days prior. I decided then, from now on if I have something major coming up, make sure to have some great fresh memories to recall and help carry me through. And also reminding myself, the Lord didn’t make it possible to find these nodules early only to drop me during a procedure.
This 50 year old grandma will continue to fight. Best wishes to you on your journey. I hope if you have to biopsy they find out it is nothing.

John- It makes me happy to hear that you will be seeing another doctor. Dede shared a site that you should look at about PET scans. The difference between a PET scan and CT is its purpose.

A CT scan can be used to visualize nearly all parts of the body and is used to diagnose disease or injury as well as to plan medical, surgical, or radiation treatment.

A PET scan can help reveal the metabolic or biochemical function of your tissues and organs. The PET scan uses a radioactive drug (tracer) to show both normal and abnormal metabolic activity. Cancer throws off energy and the radioactive injection will light up on the scan indicating that something is injured or needs further attention, like cancer.

I will be very interested to hear what your new doctor has to say. Your appointment is this Monday, right?

@jamineibs- I can't believe your timing on your post! Didn't you just swarm me with the sweetest and loveliest post? Thank you with all of my heart. Surviving is all about hope! Isn't it just honorable?

More questions;
If my 8mm nodule grows ,3 months from now in a Ct & PET scan , how do they biopsy it ,being so dangerous. My regular doctor said " at 83 you probably cant take surgery ,too risky, so we have to get a specialist in for reccomendations"
How do they radiate a small nodule..in right upper lobe..

This is from the Mayo clinic...https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/pet-scan/about/pac-20385078