What’s my chance of lung cancer?

hi @windywinland79 - welcome to Mayo Connect. it sounds like your doctor is giving you a thorough work up, which is good. there's a saying that the only way to know for sure if it's cancer is with a biopsy, so you'll have a definitive answer soon. I'm not a doctor (just a lung cancer patient), but I would say all of the evidence so far makes lung cancer very likely.

if your biopsy is positive, you'll want to have something called a biomarker test done that figures out what specific type of lung cancer it is. there are many treatment options available now and your doctor can use the biomarker info to find the best match. quitting smoking will be important for your health either way. there are supportive programs and medications that can help when you're ready to take that step. best of luck with your procedure tomorrow. let us know how it goes. 🙏🏻

@mamajite I do believe he is planning on doing the marker today does that sound right? I think he’s doing 4 different things today while he’s in there also thank you very much! I’ve pretty much already accepted that it’s cancer we just have to “confirm” it also I hope your journey is going well and I wish you the best of luck!!

Hello @windywinland79, This is a GREAT forum to use and learn from. The process you have gone thus far sounds very similar to mine, here in Canada. The biomarker test I took was the longest wait for me, as my mutation was a rare one. I'm not a medical person, but I have recently been through a lobectomy. It sounds like you are in great care, having been through all these tests. I am so glad I joined this group, I had no support group in my area with folks with cancer could get together and chat about their experiences. When I found this group, there were many people who could answer my questions, especially for the post-op information. I hope to continue to see you here. Good luck with your appointments.

@windywinland79 that does sound right. it usually takes some time to get those results back - they're often sent to an outside lab to analyze. thank you for your kind words - I'm almost 3 years post diagnosis and grateful to be here! 🙌🏻

Welcome @windywinland79, I hope your biopsy went well today.
When I was originally diagnosed, in 2020, I had a loss of appetite from the cancer, but not until I was pretty sick and struggling to breath. You've already received some great advice/comments here.
Please know that we're all hoping that it's not cancer, but we also know that it can happen to anyone. While you wait for those test results, try to take comfort in the fact that your medical team seems to be taking this seriously, and are taking the right steps to find the root cause of your issues.
Was the biopsy done via a bronchoscopy? Did the scans show any other areas of concern, lymph nodes, or sites outside the lung?

@mamajite just wanna give you an update. I had my biopsy yesterday and I am positive for non-small cell lung cancer however I’m very fortunate that it’s non-small sale instead of small sale so my team of doctors said they want me to go ahead and have a couple rounds of treatment and then they’re just gonna go in and completely remove that upper Bloob on the left side. They’re confident they can get it all at one time.

@lls8000 hello just getting back with you. Yes it was done by the robot assisted bronchoscopy and unfortunately I am positive for no small cell cancer, but at least it’s not small cell. My teams next steps are for me to do a couple rounds of treatment and then he said he wants to go in and take that left upper lobe of my lung out. That’s where the tumor is. My team is very confident that we can get this out of me. I had a very rough day yesterday after the procedure and was feeling pretty rough but today I’m up and moving and I feel pretty good and yes, I am very fortunate to have a very good team. My doctor stays on top of everything and he doesn’t keep me waiting when I go to see him and he doesn’t sugarcoat anything but they’re pretty amazing and I’m so fortunate to have him!

Your history does sound like lung cancer. The lung biopsy is done under general anesthesia. You may cough after that for several minutes. That's normal. They should remove enough and in different areas for the biopsy. They should take enough that they can test for mutations. I only smoked for about 16 years, since age 15 to age 31. I'm 68 now. I was diagnosed in the fall of 2025. I had a CT of the abdomen and an incidental finding saw the nodule. I saw a pulmonogist about a month later and had a negative biopsy a month after that. I went for a follow up biopsy in December 2025 and that was positive for non small cell lung cancer (adenocarcinoma). I started chemo and targeted treatments in January 2026 and I'm doing pretty well, considering. Good luck to you. I am on the lung cancer support group here. The people there are very nice and very helpful, especially with the questions and concerns about treatment. Sometimes, doctors don't know as much as the patients about side effects (although they vary from person to person) and how things may occur medically.

@mamajite but yes, when I had my biopsy yesterday, they did do the bio markers. I wish I knew a way of being able to post pictures because I have the test results and everything else. I don’t really understand them. I don’t get to see my doctor clear until next Wednesday on the June 3

@medtech4 yes! I got my results today and I got the same exact thing you got non small cell cancer it’s in my left upper lung. He said that we are gonna go ahead and do a couple aggressive treatments and then he’s gonna go ahead and go in there and take that part of my lung out and he said he’s more than confident that we can get this taken care of, but I wish you the best of luck yourself and yes, this group does sound to me like it’s a very positive place. I don’t have much support so having someone I can talk to is always amazing. !