i had a chest xray last week and the doc said it was fine. had another one the next day at a different place and they called me a week later saying they found a 4 by 8mm nodule. was is that? my doc said it's nothing. he told me not to worry it wasn't cancer. but still wants me to go to a chest ctscan.
can they see if it's something serious. and how can he be so sure it' s nothing. i am so worried.
on top of this i have a couple of swollen lymphnodes on my neck by my ear. ask a lot of docs about them and they all said there not even big enough to worry about them. don't get it. could one have to do with the other? i am 30 years old and smoke for about 8 years.
i just got a bad feeling about this.

Browneyedgirl, please don't worry. The same thing happened to me in February. I went for an x-ray and my Dr phoned me at home when the results came through. He asked me to go and see him as soon as possible. I was worried sick when he said there were nodules in my lungs. He said I had to wait 4 weeks from the first x-ray, then go for another one. I did this, but the second results were completely different. The nodules were just scar tissue left from when I had chickenpox pneumonia in 1986. I spent the whole 4 weeks convincing myself I had lung cancer, I had never been so scared in all my life. I was so relieved when I was told I had COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) and not lung cancer. The nodule can be alot of other things, NOT just cancer, so please try not to worry until you have had your new tests done. Easier said than done, I know. Are you prone to chest infections? If so, this could be the reason for the nodule, so try not to worry. Good luck and please keep us posted on your progress. Take care, Ann.

hi anne,
thanks for the reply. i am going to have my ct scan done tomorrow. i am still scared. even though i went to see another doc today he looked at the x ray pics and said there is nothing. i am comfused. just know i don't want to have cancer. i hope it's not gonna take them too long after tomorrow to give me the results.
i'll let you know as soon as i can.
i am glad yours turned out not to be cancer. don't know if i have a lot of infections. i know i got one right now. a bad one. i guess bronchitis. just kicked in yesterday. maybe that has something to do with this.

Hello again, sorry to hear you have bronchitis, but did you know that bronchitis can leave nodules in your lungs......scar tissue. This is very likely what it will turn out to be, so please try not to worry. Have you tried a google search at www.google.com. (http://www.google.com.) Just type in lung nodules and it will give you the addresses of some excellent websites that will give you plenty of information, and hopefully, this will put your mind at rest. Keep us informed, in the meantime I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Take care now, Ann.

hi anne,
got my ct scan done, didn't get the results from the doc yet. the nurse said something about calcified granuloma. no clue what it is. do you? something bad?
i am loosing it. i let you know if i find out more.

Hello again, just had a look at a website about calcified granulomas. Things look quite good. I have copied what it said on the website for you, I hope this will put your mind at rest. "CT should be used in the examination of patients with solitary pulmonary nodules to determine the presence or absence of calcification. When calcification is present, the lesion is most likely benign".
So it looks as if you will be okay, I certainly hope so anyway. I know exactly how you are feeling at this moment, I went through the same terrible ordeal just 2 months ago, and it was the longest 4 weeks of my life waiting for the second test results to come through. I really believe that you have been lucky this time, but you really should consider giving up smoking now. Look on this as a "wake up" call. The damage we do to our lungs is horrendous, and we have both been very lucky. Other poor souls on this site have not. Just reading the messages here each day gave me the strength to give up smoking after 30 years. Good luck, and please keep in touch and let me know your test results. Take care now, Ann.

Browneyedgirl: I'm in the same boat. Had an xray in December, which prompted a cat scan, which prompted a trip to the oncologist, which prompted a surgery date, which prompted another cat scan, this time with contrast. The night before surgery was scheduled, it was cancelled because the nodule had shrunk (the doc had been out of town and hadn't seen the scan with contrast). Had another scan earlier this month and the original nodule had shrunk but two more developed. I was VERY anxious to have these biopsied when they first discovered them since all my research indicated that this is the only way to know for certain if it is malignant or benign. Now I'm due for another scan in August. My pulmonologist said "we see these all the time." Since my father died of lung cancer and I smoked for 30 years, well..... After the initial discovery, my blood pressure rose 20 points, so do I understand your anxiety? Do I! Were I in your boat, I would wait the three months from first scan to second scan and if there is no change and if they/it has/have grown larger, I would be as proactive as possible in seeing an oncologist immediately. Since I've lived with this since December, it's not as frightening as initially. But I would be on the docs like flies on honey.

Good luck.

hi mary and anne,
thanks for the replies first of all. thanks anne for the reseach.
saw my doc today and he told me there was 4 of them all together. one is a 2mm calcified granuloma and three other nodules between 2 and 4mm. i know they are not big but i am still worried just because they are there. they told me to come back for another ct scan in september to see if there are any changes. isn't that a long time incase they are growing or they are cancer? i don't see how they are not concerned about it. i am. but maybe i am just paranoid because i've bee smoking for 8 years.
shouldn't they do any other tests to find out what those nodules are and where are they coming from.
i am lost once again.

I know exactly how you feel. I still worry that they never did enough for me either. I keep thinking that the only way they will know for sure is to do a biopsy, but they never even mentioned it. I'm sure they know what they are doing, but it doesn't make me feel any happier!!! Try not to worry. They will test you again in September to see if there has been any change in the nodules, if there is a difference, then I suppose that's when they will investigate further. In the meantime, you have to try not to worry. Very hard I know, but what else can you do? It's so easy for them to say not to worry. I have to admit though, I am feeling much better since I started treatment. I started with 2 different inhalers, but I was still getting breathless and coughing all the time, so they gave me some pulmonary tests and gave me an extra inhaler called Atrovent, which I'm pleased to say, has made all the difference. I went for a Spirometry test and the machine said I had lungs aged 80 years. I'm only 45!!! Smoking really has got a lot to answer for!
Do you have any symptoms like chest pain, breatlessness or coughing up blood? If not, then I think you should stop worrying for now, you'll end up making yourself ill with all the worry. September seems like a long way off, but I'm sure things will be fine when you go back. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. Take care now, Ann.

hi anne,
no i don't have any kind of symptoms, at least not that i know of. just those stupid nodules. what i don't understand is why is there one granuloma and three nodules. i mean what is the difference? and why is there so many? now they got me worried about my thyroid too, said there is a nodule on that too. they want to check that out for cancer. i am going crazy. why are all these things coming up. plus all the lymphnodes on my neck seems swollen. no clue if that can come from my cold. by now i am thinking i got thyroid cancer and the nodules in the lungs are metastases( don't know how to spell that). i don't know if i should go to a different doc and have everything checked out. maybe i am just a very paranoid person.
bye

Hello again browneyedgirl, I have been having a look at different websites and I found one that says granulomas are areas of old inflammation. I hope this will help you to calm down a little. I know how worrying this is for you, and I'm sure the Doctors know what they are doing. But if you really feel uncomfortable with the way things are going, then I don't supppose it will hurt for you to get a second opinion. It might even put your mind at rest. My nodules turned out to be old scar tissue from 10 years ago when I spent 2 weeks in hospital with chickenpox pneumonia. I still worry sometimes that the Doctor should have investigated further, but I'm sure that I'm just over reacting. I hope I am, anyway!!! I wish you all the luck in the world when you go back for further tests. Please keep us posted on your progress. Take care now and God bless, Ann.

Hi Ladies,
I am in the same boat with recent diagnosis (6/3/03)of calcified granuloms and calcified hyliar nodules. The CTScan also showed scarring and some very small nodules that are not calcified. I was told by a friend that those are the ones that need to be closely watched; however, the overall pattern is that of a calcifying disease process. Most likely due to a previous exposure to a fungal infection. It is very stressfull knowing that they are in there and not knowing if they will continue to appear in the future.
I will continue to seek info. from the medical community and will pass on any info that I find. I do know that calcified nodules of the lung are considered non-cancerous. Good luck to all.

Great advice, to keep an eye on it - get a second opinion too, if you think that would make you feel better.

In the past I have been really bad about putting off my yearly check up. Now I am realizing that by catching something in the early stages can give you a definitely advantage. I know we have been told this over and over for years - but seems the message is beginning to hit home for me finally.

Also, I will insist that my doctor take at least one set of chest x-rays with my physical once a year - if he won't do it I am sure another dr. will.

Try not to worry dear, your dr. probably sees this more than you can imagine - but I know it is still hard not to worry.

Good luck. Hope B.

Just wanted to say I wish the best for all of you. My husband had x-rays done when he had some chest pain a while back and they found a spot on his lung. Just had his CT scan done yesterday. We'll find out on Monday. I'm hoping it's nothing. Reading your post gave me hope.

I am a cancer survivor myself. Not lung cancer, but the kind I had they say if it comes back, it appears in your lungs. I get xrays done EVERY year. You be sure to do the same. True, Doctors do see this type of thing a lot, however, I feel it is up to us to speak up for what is best for us both physically and mentally. I was 26 when I had cancer. I am now 33 almost 34 and enjoy every day I'm given! You do the same!!

Take Care,
Lucky

Hey Lucky,
Keep us posted on your husband. I admire how brave you are. You are living proof that miracles can happen.
Best wishes to you both,
ShelbyS

I am somewhat relieved to know that others are going thru this as well. I had a very bad chest infection about two weeks ago. My dr. ordered a chest x-ray to make sure I didn't have pneumonia. I did not. However, he called me a few days later to advise that the radiologist found something else that looked like swollen blood vessels and that they needed to do another x-ray - shadow x-rays. So, I had that done, which was followed by another call from my dr. advising that they had found a "nodule" in my lung. I am 36 years old and have smoked for 15 years (no smoking since that phone call). I had a CT scan, but no results yet, and am scheduled for a PET scan in two weeks. The waiting is making me insane. I am an emotional disaster and am crying constantly. I cannot focus and my spouse is totally unsupportive. I do not want to tell my parents since they live far away. I am just so worried. I do not know how I am going to continue to function until this is resolved. Any coping suggestions would be welcome.

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JoJo