I have been jumping around on these boards lately (I think maybe a bit of anxiety) but anyway I am 26 and almost 3 months ago i went to the er with little chest pain, they did a ct scan, said was fine sent me home, i asked my dr to get my results from the hospital and here i had a 7mm by 4mm nodule in my right upper lobe of my lung both my dr and a lung specialist said it is probally nothing and to get another ct scan in 3 months (which is nect week) but lately my chest feels like it is tearing sometimes and very tender sometimes also my back hurts my dr says it can'tt be from the nodule because the nodule is too small .. I am so scared I have lung cancer.. anyone have any advise???? I am very scared and need to talk .. Also I just read a few people saying it can grow out of control in a couple months , is this true my dr has swore that a nodule as small as mine would not grow out of control in a three month period i am so scared and really need someone to talk to I am only 26 and a new mommy.... Thanks

Hi, I know exactly what you are going through. Let me tell you my experience. I am sure it will make you feel better. They found a "nodule" on my right upper lobe on an xray. I had NEVER had a bad xray, so I freaked out of course. I was sent to have a ct scan done, to be sure it was a nodule and not a shadow or something else. It was a nodule, from what I recall it was 2.5 CM x 1.5 CM, so mine was bigger than yours. I was then sent to a Heart and Lung Surgeon/Specialist, Dr. Gordon. He looked over my xrays and ctscan and told me that he didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. He put me on some really strong antibiotics to see if it was maybe an infection, went back 2 weeks later, and it wasn't gone, I was really going nuts now, I was sure that I had lung cancer. Dr. Gordon still informed me that he didn't think it was anything and that he wanted to monitor it for a few months to see if it would grow, which if it did it was more likely to be cancerous. Three months later I go back to his office for another xray, still not gone, but hadn't grown. Dr. Gordon said that he wanted me to have 1 more ct scan just to be sure that it was nothing. This ct scan came back that they had found a tumor INSIDE my heart!!!!!!!!!!!! After doing a TEE test, which is where you are asleep and they stick a tube down your throat that has a camera on it, to make sure that the tumor is actually there, it was! This was something that had to come out. I was told that I had to have open heart surgery! By the way, I am a 28 year old female. I was in disbelief. I asked Dr. Gordon what about the spot on my lung and he said that during surgery he would check it out. Guess what???????? The tumor INSIDE my heart was NOT cancerous, and he did get it all out which was a big factor, and the thing on my lung was just a fungus. I am greatful for finding that spot on my lung because if it was never found the tumor inmy heart would have eventually killed me. Another thing when the doc wanted to "watch the nodule" I thought the same thing, "what if it grows out of control over the next few months, and my doc told me the same as yours, that it wouldn't. I know how hard it is to be positive and think the worst, because that is what I did. I put myself through SO much stress and and anxiety, but when I look back on it, I wish I would have been more positive. It is probably nothing. Also, I had the fact that I had been smoking for the past 12 years!!! I haven't smoked since the day they told me I had a nodule on my lung, and that was 6 months ago. I hope my story has made you feel a little better. I guess my point was that not everything is the worst. Try to stay positive, if you need to talk, I am here. :)

Thanks so much I am trying to stay positive but it is hard, especially now since i have this dull ache in my chest kinda like tenderness and my back hurts a little and I constantly have to clear my throat, you really don't think this has anything to do with the nodule, also did you have any other symptoms? did you feel a certain way?

The only symptoms that I had were shoulder pain, which is why I demanded the xray, but my surgeon said that had nothing to do with the nodule. No other symptoms at all. My surgeon even told me that if it WAS cancer, it was so early that he could go in and take it out and I'd be ok, no Chemo or radiation. Reminder, that mine was bigger than yours.

thanks again. I feel a little better now,..

I think it might be a little anxiety, but for the past few day my chest is tight and my back is hurting a little does anyone think these are signs of cancer?? I am so scared on tuesday that they will tell me that it got bigger and spread to somewhere else

You really need to calm down...you are going to drive yourself crazy. The chances that you have lung cancer at the age if 26 is slim to none. How long have you been smoking? That nodule is so tiny - it is not even a centimeter. And it would not cause chest pain or back pain.

Best advice - chill out - go get the next CT scan and take care of your kid - babies can sense tension and it can be doing him (or her) any favors.

Relax and enjoy life - you are so young!

Thank you , i hope you don't mind if I ask a few question,, It was 7mm by 4mm three months ago what if grew out of control when i go this time or what if it has spread i am so scared i can't even think straight, i have tight chest , back pain and i am constantly clearing my throat, I'm sorry to go on and on I am just so scared I can't help it, what if I go on tuesday and it spread?? I'm sorry i guess i just need to vent cause this board is the only place i do this, thanks for listening

Thank you , i hope you don't mind if I ask a few question,, It was 7mm by 4mm three months ago what if grew out of control when i go this time or what if it has spread i am so scared i can't even think straight, i have tight chest , back pain and i am constantly clearing my throat, I'm sorry to go on and on I am just so scared I can't help it, what if I go on tuesday and it spread?? I'm sorry i guess i just need to vent cause this board is the only place i do this, thanks for listening


HI

Your age and realtively short smoking history are both on your side, hon.

Chronic Bronchitis can cause all the symptoms that you're having, so try not to worry if you can.

Certainly go back for your follow up appt next week.

One thing that I'd like to say, though, is that you don't have to justify your fears to anyone. We all have a right to feel however we feel, and don't let anyone suggest otherwise.

Another thought, if you're having pain under the right shoulder, it can even be something like gall bladder problems, believe it or not.

good luck!

thanks for the input I will try not to be scared if i just knew where the heaviness or more like tightness is coming from i will feel better, but thanks for trying it good to have someone to understand my fears..

Shadowrose ay i ask what brings you to the board??

Shayser, stress can cause tightness in your chest, and I'm sure with your new baby there's no shortness of stress in your diet. Best Wishes with your ct on Saturday.

What about back pain, I read that is a sign of lung cancer is this true?

back pain could be anything from pulled muscles to pancreatic cancer, if it persists see a Dr asap.

I know I am just really scared if anyone has been through what i'm going through please post i have never been this scared in my life

Shadowrose ay i ask what brings you to the board??


HI

I'm 44, and have smoked for 30+ years. On Halloween, I started coughing up blood tinged gunk from my lungs and was short of breath.

I immediately went to the ER and they ordered a lung CT, where they found a nodule on my left lung, along with enlarged nodes and emphysema.

I am here because I was trying to see what the liklihood was of this being cancer.

I also have asthma and chronic bronchitis, and a long family history of young age cancer.

So, I'm here to see if anyone knows if non-calcified indeteremiate nodules found on CT are omnious or usually benign, when accompanied by enlarged nodes of unknown significance (per the report)

I'm in the '3 months' waiting game, and feel that that is a long time to wait, when my dad was dead within 3 months of the 'nodule' being found on his x-ray.

thanks for the input I will try not to be scared if i just knew where the heaviness or more like tightness is coming from i will feel better, but thanks for trying it good to have someone to understand my fears..


Something I forgot to mention. If you've been coughing for a prolonged period of time, or if you have bronchitis or asthma, they both increase your chances of having pain in the back.

Also, pleursy (inflammation of the linings around the lungs) can cause quite severe pain in the chest and back. I've had it every year at least once since I was 18.

do you know how big the nodule was??

do you know how big the nodule was??


6mm

thats almost the same size as mine well mine was 7mm by 4mm , how many do you have? i had to wait three months and now i go on tuesday which i am scared , what did your dr tell you it might be?

thats almost the same size as mine well mine was 7mm by 4mm , how many do you have? i had to wait three months and now i go on tuesday which i am scared , what did your dr tell you it might be?


I only have the one. And, due to my age and long smoking history, it makes the possibility of cancer possible.

I'm twice your age almost and have smoked for longer than you've been alive.

I think you'll find that yours is some type non-cancerous entity.

shadowrose40:

I am 43, smoked for over 20 years and had a 1cmx6mm nodule. I had it removed...refused to play that "comeback every 3 months" game. I am still amazed to this day it was benign, but it was. The surgery was 8 weeks ago and really was not that bad! Yeah the chest tube made me sick but it is all over and I know I do not have lung cancer.

I think your history makes you a little more high risk...family history of cancer and enlarged lymph nodes. I would have it removed if I were you. You have no idea how good it feels to be proactive and get it out. Even if it was malignant, I was still in good shape...could have beat cancer being caught so early. I'm sure yours could also be beat if malignant.

I wish all of you the good fortune I have had.

HI

No one has given me the option of just having it removed. I wish they would, but as I have no insurance, I'm sure that's part of it. The doctors didn't even tell me about the enlarged nodes in my lungs. I called and had a copy of the report sent to me, and read it myself.

The 'uncalcified' and 'indeterminate' is what has me a little concerned, that along with the fact that I've been sick for so long, and continue to become more and more ill, literally by the day. Not just with lung issues, but with severe abdomoninal pain as well.

But what will be will be, I guess. I wouldn't do chemo or radiation anyway- all I'd let them do is remove it.

I just can't help but think that all this is somehow connected. I had a CT of the abdomen several years ago and the report read "can not rule out metastasis" due to the number of cysts they found. Nothing was ever done about them, because in the same CT they found a growth on my liver that had to be removed (non-cancerous)

I had a 'good' year or so, then got sick all over again. Same type of abdominal pain, yada yada. Now, I have diverticulitiis, per the ER doc, but I'm not convinced that that is 'all' it is.

Sorry, just venting.



shadowrose40:

I am 43, smoked for over 20 years and had a 1cmx6mm nodule. I had it removed...refused to play that "comeback every 3 months" game. I am still amazed to this day it was benign, but it was. The surgery was 8 weeks ago and really was not that bad! Yeah the chest tube made me sick but it is all over and I know I do not have lung cancer.

I think your history makes you a little more high risk...family history of cancer and enlarged lymph nodes. I would have it removed if I were you. You have no idea how good it feels to be proactive and get it out. Even if it was malignant, I was still in good shape...could have beat cancer being caught so early. I'm sure yours could also be beat if malignant.

I wish all of you the good fortune I have had.

HI Shayser

I think that even if they have grown, that it can still be some type of infection going on. Remember that lung nodules are usually benign.

Exactly what did your last CT report say? Was it a calcified or non-calcified nodule?

If there are more of them, then certainly it warrants further investigation, if for no other reason than for your peace of mind!

I know I'd be worried, too! I'm in the 'waiting' stage, so I can relate all too well.

If they don't get back to you, you can always go pick up a copy of the report from the imaging facility yourself. I've found that doctors tend to leave out information sometimes, and it annoys me no end.

Hugs. Just yell if you want to talk.

Edited to add: Hon, I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't post on the other thread or anything. I was just afraid that it might scare Chazz's wife, that's the only reason I moved over here.

I truly didn't mean to upset you if I did.