Those of you who have been diagnosed (or a loved-one diagnosed) with lung cancer, can you list the symptoms that got you to the doctor. Also, if you had no symptoms, how was it discovered?

I know there's a list on the cancer websites, but it might be helpful to hear from people who have been through the diagnostic process. It's so important to know what to look for so this cancer can be caught early.

I can tell you about my mom's experience. Four years prior to her diagnosis she started felling short of breath with activity. She was not wheezing at all just felt short of breath, She went to the doctor they did all the respiratory tests, Her pumonary function tests were all normal next they did cardiac tests and everything came back normal so thinking maybe she had a pulmonary embolism they even did a Cat scan once again normal so everyone was stumped and mom just sort of did the best she could and became less active but was still active for a woman in her late 70's.

Over those 4 years she developed other symptoms like she was sweating alot, she felt fatigued and each time she went back to the doctor they really could not find anything wrong and started thinking it was a blood sugar issue so had her measuring her blood sugars which were on the high side of normal . About 3 years into this she lost about 20 lbs which she and her doctor thought was from increasing her calcium. Now she was at the weight she had always wanted to get back to having shed that excess 20 lbs that came with having 4 kids. Still the doctors thought nothing was wrong. Then In June 2004 she got very short of breath and this time it kept getting worse so she went to urgent care and they discovered she had a pleural sffusion. It was the pleural effusion that lead to finding the cancer. They did not see the tumor on the Xray but on a CT there it was and it was 7 CM. They have looked back at that old CT from 4 years prior and there is nothing visible. Sad for my mom was the cancer which is NSCLC adenocarcinoma had already spread to her liver so she was stage IV.

My mom was a nonsmoker.She had no other health issues except low thyroid and some allergies.. She never had a nagging cough or coughed up blood or had any chest pain which is what so many people believe are the symptoms of lung cancer, She did start coughing with the pleural effusion but nothing before that.( except years ago when her allergies were acting up at night she would cough and cough and when visiting I remember thinking could she have lung cancer? but this was about 20 yrs ago and when I told her to ask the doctor for nasal steroids which she did and within a week or two the cough was gone and has not come back).

I think you will find alot of people had no symptoms that screamed Lung cancer. Alot of people that are caught in the early stage end up finding out because the had an Xray or CT for some other reason, like a car accident , pre surgery, pneumonia etc and the tumor was spotted and it came as a huge shock. That is the bad thing about lung cancer is it usually does not have alot of symptoms until the later stages. and even then it can be things like back pain from bone mets and not things that scream lung cancer.

I hope this helps you some as I tell people if you feel there is something wrong with your body listen to it and have it checked out until yoiu feel satisfied with what the doctors tell you. Hope this helps some. JanMarie

That is the bad thing about lung cancer is it usually does not have alot of symptoms until the later stages. and even then it can be things like back pain from bone mets and not things that scream lung cancer.The other "whammy" about lung cancer is in it's primary cause - smoking.

The fact that smokers know their increased risk does not translate to additional health care or otherwise positively affect their health care choices. In fact, all statistics regarding lung cancers are skewed by the refusal of screenings by the smoking population that needs it the most.

It is absolutely ludicrous that health care providers do not mandate yearly CT screenings. This topic will see considerable discussion as the 60/70s smoking "boomers" present with late stage carcinomas......

My cancer was caught when my doctor had me go in for an abdomen CT scan for prostate symptoms to rule out prostate cancer. That was negative but they saw the bottom of a lung mass so they also did a chest CT and found a 7cm mass which turned out to be typical carcinoid cancer that had probably been there 7 years or more as that type of cancer is relatively slow growing at 1 cm a year or less. I did have prior symptoms such as chronic bronchitis, chest pains etc but it had all been written off as allergy problems and Valley fever by the docs as I was a life long non smoker. Not one doc suspected cancer. My right middle lobe and nearby nodes where removed in March and so far its staying away but this type of cancer according to studies can stay microscopic as long as 10 years before returning so I have to stay with getting regular follow up exams. As I was a CT scanner FE in the past I know getting regular CT scans is a mixed blessing as they subject you to a pretty fair amount of radiation (1 chest CT = 500 standard chest xrays average) and its effects are accumulative and can eventually cause more cancer years later. Thats one reason why many doctors won't order a CT without some suspicion of cancer first. On the other hand a standard chest Xray can miss even fairly large tumors especially if they are near bone or another structure. My Mom went from clean chest Xrays to stage IV lung cancer in about 3 months. The cancer was almost certainly there already when the chest xrays looked clean. Many times lung cancer will not show symptoms until its spread enough to cause problems elsewhere. Also, many times symptoms are wrongly diagnosed as other problems. You can always request other tests like blood tests that may show cancer markers, pulmonary function test etc first if you are worried.

Dave

JanMarie - good to hear your Mom may get some medication to help her appetite. I pray for her and everyone here. I am currently awaiting doctor appt on Monday to find out what is causing my symptoms of shortness of breath and chest discomfort. I have no history of lung problems but I did smoke on and off for about 15 years so naturally I fear the worst. Quit 6 years ago.

What caused your Mom's sweating? That's a symptom I've never heard before.

Anniefannie,

Sweating can be a symptom of most cancers. My guess is that is because cancer cells have a higher metabolic rate so burn fuel at a much faster pace then normal cells. The weight loss and heat would be one of the byproducts of metabolism thus the sweating.

I will send thoughts and prayers your way on Monday. Make sure the doctor looks at possible cardiac problems too as shortness of breath and chest pain could be cardiac.

Not to scare you but I have a friend that went to the cardiac cath lab and had tests run for the same symptoms you have. The tests showed he did not have plaque build up in the cardiac arteries, Better know as clogged arteries so he was told he did not have cardiac problems yet a few days later had a heart attack.Sometimes the issue is the walls of the artery are being compressed from inflammation which can be diet related, and that does not show up when they do the heart caths or angiograms. Diet changes can do away with the inflammation and the problems then go away. I did some reading on this when this happened to my friend. There is a book written by a cardiologist that believes cardiac bypass surgery could be avoided as well as alot of cardiac meds if people would follow an anti inflammatory diet. That alot of cardiac problems can be reversed by diet.

I live on a very steep hill and I have noticed when I do not eat the proper diet lets say I went out with friends for burgers and fries that when I walk the dogs and we come up that hill that I too feel alittle short of breath I also feel somewhat sluggish when I do not eat right but when I eat a healthy diet that does not happen. Inflammation can cause alot of problems and diet is often to blame. My friend changed his diet big time and he has been fine.

Another thing you might want to look up on the internet and possibly ask the doctor about is Pulmonary Hypertension as sypmtoms of it can be shortness of breath with minimal exertion, fatigue, chest pain and it is another thing that is often over looked but is best if caught early.

People always think Lung Cancer especially smokers but there are so many things that can cause those sypmtoms so I hope you get some answers and I hope lung cancer is not among them. Best of luck on Monday and keep us posted. :) JanMarie

Hi Anniefannie- It sounds like you have received some good feedback. I have been DX lung cancer- stage 4. My symptoms were back pain, profuse sweating and fatigue. Today I am painfree. However, I can predict how my monthly CT reads by how often I sweat. For me, an increase in lymph node size = an increase in sweating. Should I not sweat, I can find that there was no significant change in lymph node size. Go figure!! In any case and at all times my fatique remains with me. The decrease in energy hurts me more than the cancer itself. Best to you...

Thanks everyone for the information and the good wishes for Monday. I will be seeing a Cardiologist but I'm going to ask for a chest Xray along with the cardio tests.

EasyRun, I'm sorry to hear about your DX. When did you find out? I pray you will be OK. I'm in NY too, in Westchester County. Where are you being treated?

Dave - both you and your mom?!? Wow, that is awful. Did your mom smoke? I'm amazed at how many NON smokers are here with lung cancer!

Here's what's been happening with me. For the past few months I've been feeling increasingly short of breath. It started when I was swimming laps in the pool - worked my way up to 14 and then, all of a sudden one day I couldn't swim 2 laps. Got busy and stopped going to the pool, but over the next couple of months I was feeling fatigued and the shortness of breath would hit me once in a while. I chalked it up to the heat and humidity. Over the next few weeks the breathing problem got much worse. It doesn't seem related to exertion. I can walk a mile or be watching TV and have the same shortness of breath. It's like I can't get a deep enough breath when I breathe in - I feel like something is stopping me mid-way. After a few tries I go back to normal breathing.

Sometimes I feel lightheaded when I get up from sitting. Mostly I just feel like a heaviness in my chest - it's there all the time. The shortness of breath now occurs every day, several times a day; when it started it was maybe a couple of times a week. I feel really just plain lousy most of the time.

I also clear my throat a lot - seems there's always something in there. Throat gets irritated and then I start coughing - a throat lozenge will stop the cough almost immediately. I think the cough is a post nasal thing.

I haven't lost any weight - in fact I gained 10 lbs this year - eeek!!! But I do alternate between sweating and shivering several times a day. My GP is thinking its heart related. He had me do the spirometer test and it was normal, but I guess that doesn't mean anything, right JanMarie?

Any ideas? I guess I'll know more on Monday. Thanks again all for your good wishes and prayers.

Wishing you well on Monday, anniefannie. You are in my prayers.

"Dave - both you and your mom?!? Wow, that is awful. Did your mom smoke? I'm amazed at how many NON smokers are here with lung cancer!"

Actually first my Dad died of colon cancer then 2 years later my Mom who had been a smoker and was diagnosed with lung cancer when it was to late to do much about it. They told her she had maybe 6 months but only lasted about 3. Then a couple years after that I was diagnosed with it but a type not caused by smoking (typical carcinoid).

Dave

I thought I would share with my husband's diagnosis/symptoms. In Oct. 2000 my husband was having chest pains and fatigue so made him an appt. with the cardio. He did not do well with his stress test so they wanted an angiogram, but he wanted something nonevassive so had nuclear scanning and all came out perfect...no heart problems. So then once in a while he would not feel well, come out of the blue...chest pains and we just thought stress. Then in May or June 2004 I noticed he had a cough that would not go away so FINALLY got him to go to the doctor in Sept. 04...they took a lung x-ray which showed a slight infection, but nothing terrible. They put him on antibiotic and he showed signs of improving, but the cough never went away 100%, but was told it was a post nasal drip. Then in April 2005 the cough seemed to happen more often, but never when he slept. I took him back to the doctor who then took an x-ray and said, at least he does not have lung cancer. We both looked at each other and thought to ourselves what an odd statement to make. The x-rays were 100% clean! Then around that same time he started getting severe back pain. He thought he had pulled something, but did some therapy and no relief. And..during all of this we got a call that he has polycythemia to see a specialist. I also noticed my husband's butt was gone! It was just skin hanging and no muscle! Amazing how quick the cancer was spreading. So...we don't know if in 2002 those pains were associated with the cancer or just stress. We find the entire thing odd, but have had 4 doctors tell us that his cancer spread in two months time and we caught it as fast as we could. You just don't know. Oh, he also lost 10lbs.
I hope you can get some answers and not worrying what is wrong.
My thoughts and prayers are with you,
Kim

Hi all. This is my first time posting so bear with me.
I was diognosed with small cell lung cancer on September 25th of this year. I am now undergoing Chemo...2nd cycle...
I wasn't feeling well in August...Just generally tired and a heavy feeling in my chest. My doctor of many years retired in August so I had to find a new doctor and procrastinated until mid September when my son yelled...Enough is enough Mom I can hear you wheezing. Go to the doctor....So I tried to find a new GP or Internist...I ended up with a Friday appointment with my daughters-in law Doctor...she examined me and put me in the hospital for tests...ON A FRIDAY NIGHT...I was already scared but cancer was the furtherest thought. It took them 2 days but after a cscan , xrays, and ultra sound they schedualed a broncoscope...and found cancer in my left upper lobe.
So symptoms...Tired, heaviness in my chest, soaking sweats,and thats about it...hope alls goin well with your treatments.
Nonniemarie

I wanted to share my dad's story here also: about 2 years ago, my dad had a stroke, lost some movement in his right side. He recovered from his stroke with only some minor sight problems. About a year and a half ago, my father was hit by a pickup truck while crossing the street in front of his home. He had a broken pelvis, which he was hospitialized for several months while they rebuilt this area and for rehab. They gave him a clean bill of health...Then in May of this year he was diagnosed with cancer. The tumor was the size of a golf ball, which nobody can be sure, but perhaps it was present during his hospital stay previously? just speculation, we would not accuse the doctors who treated him for the accident about his cancer...anyways, he had no classic symptoms of cancer, in fact, he thought it was another stroke onset...he was falling - loss of balance, and his foot was twitching - which we found out later it was focal siezures. He also had a cough - which I thought more about then he did in hindsight..it was ongoing for a few months. The inital diagnosis was bleeding on the brain, which could've been caused by stroke. Hospitalized for about a week and we heard the diagnosis...sclc with brain mets.
Kim and JanMarie I hope your mom and hubby are doing well these days.
~Jeanie

Between 1999 and 2001, I had surgery for the removal of a simple cyst on the larynx and a hysterectomy with dual oopherectomy. In 2002, having symptoms typical of gallstones, I was referred to a specialist who noted my father had died from bowel cancer and he put me through every test imagineable for BC. All clear. I was confident I had no health problems, other than osteo-arthritis. I'd had four years of check-ups and follow-ups !!
Symptoms I've had in the last four years were heavy sweating...typical for post-menopause; recurring back pain and a dull, nagging pain in left shoulder which, just like the increasing fatigue, I put down to the degenerating arthritis.
Then in March 2006 my neighbour had a serious house fire which caused extensive structural damage to my home, and I lost everything I own...and no contents insurance. It was a traumatic time, and I lost a lot of weight in a matter of weeks.
But I made the best of each day...the fire hadn't taken lives, just property. The neighbour will be sued for damages, I had insurance for the building itself if not for my possessions.
I was surprised that I wasn't putting back on any the weight I'd lost, but I was nearly the correct weight for my height. I'd been overweight before the trauma.
So I had no suspicions, putting the few sympoms down to other issues. If I'd had chest x-rays after the night of the fire (which I refused because I hadn't inhaled smoke) they would have shown the cancer. But I had another six months before nsclc was discovered, and an earlier diagnosis wouldn't have had any bearing on my prognosis.
I have stage4 nsclc with mets on adrenal gland, in groin and neck, and uninvestigated "cysts" on pancreas and one on the brain, and a pituitary tumour.

I did not start this post but I want to thank evryone for sharing their story and hope that more of you do. I think it is important to do so as maybe it will save a life. Someone that reads it will say Wait that is how I have been feeling and get to a doctor and catch the cancer early enough to survive it. One of the reasons I decided to join a message board was to get my mom's story out there in hopes that hearing it could save another's life. My mom's cancer was caught too late but if her story can help people then it is not all in vain.:)
Keep sharing! JanMarie

My mother is 69, and smoked for almost 50 years. She said it was the cool thing to do in the 50's and she never stopped.........

She had no symptoms at all. she had smokers cough. When she quit smoking 3 years ago, the cough stopped.

Back in May she had a dizzy spell. The initial dizzyness lasted a few seconds, however, a feeling of lightheadedness lasted well into 2 weeks. the dr's told her it was vertigo and anxiety.

After mom started really slowing down, I got suspicious. She was sluggish, and shuffling her feet as she walked. She almost had a glary eyed look as well, and cried continuously. The dr. ran tests and told her she was low thyroid.

After weeks of taking synthroid for the thyroid, and mom getting worse, we decided to go to an endocrynologist to see if she had azdrenal fatigue. He said probably, but something ELSE was going on as well. He told her to get a catscan.

We called for a catscan, but they couldn't get her in until the following week as it wasn't "stat"............a few days went by, and she was weak on her left side. Her smile was even sloping, and her left eye looked funny.........I begged the catscan girls to get us in...I cried, and they said "ok, be here tomorrow"...........that was a saturday. So we did have to wait until Monday.

I was the one that had to call her primary Dr.'s on-call Dr. as her dr was on vacation. They told me the fax was off all night and nothing came through. I then called the CT desk, and they said it was sent. I remember going back and forth trying to get them to re-fax it. finally I got a hold of the Dr. and he told me to go to a nurologist right away, as something was found on the brain.

We went to a neurologist, who told us to get an MRI. He said it wasn't an emergency, and we could get one this week. Mom was afraid of closed MRI's, and all of them were booked, so she opted for an emergency room as they would drug her up during the scan, which is what she wanted.

That is where the test revealed she had a brain tumor........additional scans were ordered and the CT scan found a mass on the lung. It was a metastisized tumor from the lung to the brain.

The tumor was removed 3 days after checking into emergency........the tumor was cystic and fluid filled, with a slight small outer layer of cancer. They said the removal was a surgeons dream as he got it all. Mom underwent radiation (14 sessions) in the head as a precaution...............

She has had 2 MRI's and all is well in the head............

After 2 chemos, they rescanned her with a CT, and showed 30% shrinkage. Then ordered 2 more chemos. her 4th will be tomorrow. After this one, she will be scanned again, and possibly given the tomo radiation therapy instead of the chemo.

I have alot of faith in God, and feel mom will survive this! It will be a hell of a battle, but we are all willing to fight it!

God Bless you all with such "moving" stories to share!

Angel

My mother is 69, and smoked for almost 50 years. She said it was the cool thing to do in the 50's and she never stopped.........

She had no symptoms at all. she had smokers cough. When she quit smoking 3 years ago, the cough stopped.

Back in May she had a dizzy spell. The initial dizzyness lasted a few seconds, however, a feeling of lightheadedness lasted well into 2 weeks. the dr's told her it was vertigo and anxiety.

After mom started really slowing down, I got suspicious. She was sluggish, and shuffling her feet as she walked. She almost had a glary eyed look as well, and cried continuously. The dr. ran tests and told her she was low thyroid.

After weeks of taking synthroid for the thyroid, and mom getting worse, we decided to go to an endocrynologist to see if she had azdrenal fatigue. He said probably, but something ELSE was going on as well. He told her to get a catscan.

We called for a catscan, but they couldn't get her in until the following week as it wasn't "stat"............a few days went by, and she was weak on her left side. Her smile was even sloping, and her left eye looked funny.........I begged the catscan girls to get us in...I cried, and they said "ok, be here tomorrow"...........that was a saturday. So we did have to wait until Monday.

I was the one that had to call her primary Dr.'s on-call Dr. as her dr was on vacation. They told me the fax was off all night and nothing came through. I then called the CT desk, and they said it was sent. I remember going back and forth trying to get them to re-fax it. finally I got a hold of the Dr. and he told me to go to a nurologist right away, as something was found on the brain.

We went to a neurologist, who told us to get an MRI. He said it wasn't an emergency, and we could get one this week. Mom was afraid of closed MRI's, and all of them were booked, so she opted for an emergency room as they would drug her up during the scan, which is what she wanted.

That is where the test revealed she had a brain tumor........additional scans were ordered and the CT scan found a mass on the lung. It was a metastisized tumor from the lung to the brain.

The tumor was removed 3 days after checking into emergency........the tumor was cystic and fluid filled, with a slight small outer layer of cancer. They said the removal was a surgeons dream as he got it all. Mom underwent radiation (14 sessions) in the head as a precaution...............

She has had 2 MRI's and all is well in the head............

After 2 chemos, they rescanned her with a CT, and showed 30% shrinkage. Then ordered 2 more chemos. her 4th will be tomorrow. After this one, she will be scanned again, and possibly given the tomo radiation therapy instead of the chemo.

I have alot of faith in God, and feel mom will survive this! It will be a hell of a battle, but we are all willing to fight it!

God Bless you all with such "moving" stories to share!

Angel

My mother is 69, and smoked for almost 50 years. She said it was the cool thing to do in the 50's and she never stopped.........

She had no symptoms at all. she had smokers cough. When she quit smoking 3 years ago, the cough stopped.

Back in May she had a dizzy spell. The initial dizzyness lasted a few seconds, however, a feeling of lightheadedness lasted well into 2 weeks. the dr's told her it was vertigo and anxiety.

After mom started really slowing down, I got suspicious. She was sluggish, and shuffling her feet as she walked. She almost had a glary eyed look as well, and cried continuously. The dr. ran tests and told her she was low thyroid.

After weeks of taking synthroid for the thyroid, and mom getting worse, we decided to go to an endocrynologist to see if she had azdrenal fatigue. He said probably, but something ELSE was going on as well. He told her to get a catscan.

We called for a catscan, but they couldn't get her in until the following week as it wasn't "stat"............a few days went by, and she was weak on her left side. Her smile was even sloping, and her left eye looked funny.........I begged the catscan girls to get us in...I cried, and they said "ok, be here tomorrow"...........that was a saturday. So we did have to wait until Monday.

I was the one that had to call her primary Dr.'s on-call Dr. as her dr was on vacation. They told me the fax was off all night and nothing came through. I then called the CT desk, and they said it was sent. I remember going back and forth trying to get them to re-fax it. finally I got a hold of the Dr. and he told me to go to a nurologist right away, as something was found on the brain.

We went to a neurologist, who told us to get an MRI. He said it wasn't an emergency, and we could get one this week. Mom was afraid of closed MRI's, and all of them were booked, so she opted for an emergency room as they would drug her up during the scan, which is what she wanted.

That is where the test revealed she had a brain tumor........additional scans were ordered and the CT scan found a mass on the lung. It was a metastisized tumor from the lung to the brain.

The tumor was removed 3 days after checking into emergency........the tumor was cystic and fluid filled, with a slight small outer layer of cancer. They said the removal was a surgeons dream as he got it all. Mom underwent radiation (14 sessions) in the head as a precaution...............

She has had 2 MRI's and all is well in the head............

After 2 chemos, they rescanned her with a CT, and showed 30% shrinkage. Then ordered 2 more chemos. her 4th will be tomorrow. After this one, she will be scanned again, and possibly given the tomo radiation therapy instead of the chemo.

I have alot of faith in God, and feel mom will survive this! It will be a hell of a battle, but we are all willing to fight it!

God Bless you all with such "moving" stories to share!

Angel

I had forgotten about this symptom, when I posted earlier.

When I was in hospital after having the pulmonary embolism, and when the lung cancer was discovered, the lung consultant brought some med students to see me. He asked me to show them my fingers and toes, pointing out they were "clubbing"; and that my fingernails were "clubbing".

This is apparently an uncommon symptom....seen in around 5% of lung cancer patients.

I had noticed these changes some time ago. ...years ago... and put them down to my having osteo-arthritis.

I can't adequately describe how the fingers and nails look, but you can look it up on the net, for images.

Janmarie is right in her post.....sharing information could save lives.

A quick post before I head to bed after an exhausting day. The clubbed fingers Ellengrace speaks of is from chronic hypoxia (low oxygen levels in the blood over a long period of time). You see it in alot of people with chronic lung disease or heart disease and in children with Cystic fibrosis. I am pretty sure that if you google Clubbed fingers you can find websites with a photo of what it looks like. It is basically a distorted angle in the finger nail bed. JanMarie

My grandma had lung cancer which was due to her smoking. She wasn't caught until the late stage, but she had been experiencing back pain. Her doctor did no tests and treated her for awhile with Celebrex. Eventually she lost some memory and expierenced headaches. She went to the emergency room. They told her she had the flu and to follow up with her regular doctor. When she followed up, tests were FINALLY ORDERED. At that time she had five brain tumors and cancer spread throughout her lungs. Later on we would find out she also had bone cancer.

Don't depend on doctors. If you have any sort of symptoms and smoke, PLEASE GET CHECKED OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I wish we could of linked those symptoms with lung cancer for my grandma. Doctors can sometimes be clueless. She was able to spend seven months with us.

Symptoms range and can mimic other diseases, so its better to be safe then sorry.

My mom had no symptoms except fatigue Her cancer was caught on an x-ray while she was taking a swallowing test. Sometimes liquids would go down her trach which made her choke, hence the doc ordered the swallowing test. She has a 3.5 c tumor next to her bronchus. Other than having a bout with pneumonia which landed her in the hospital for a few days, she seems to be doing some better. It's the chemo that makes her so tired & sick.

Hi - I started this thread a couple of weeks ago and wanted to update on my situation. First I'd like to thank everyone who shared their stories here. It's so wonderful to have a forum like this. As EllenGrace said, there is nothing like getting information directly from people who are experiencing what you are going through. My prayers are with all of you.

I still don't have a clue what's going on with me. In the past 2 weeks I've been to the cardiologist for a holter monitor and echocardiagram because my GP was convinced my symptoms were heart-related Both tests came back normal. Went back to my GP for bloodwork (which I'll get results on 11/20). Both doctors don't feel I need a chest x-ray, as they don't think my shortness of breath and other symptoms are lung related - my lungs are clear and my spirometer test was normal.

GP wants to wait for bloodwork before doing any further tests. He said in the meantime to get some exercise, lose some weight (I'm 50 lbs overweight) and try not to concentrate on my breathing - maybe it's anxiety! :dizzy:

Now the dilemma is, if my bloodwork comes up normal, should I still insist on CT or MRI or what? I hate to have unnecessary tests, but I also know I wont be able to relax about this until I know for sure. What should my next step be?

I would have my doc do the bronchoscopy......it shows more than any ct or x-ray........and ther results are immediate.

The problem with a bronchoscopy is that it can only see into the larger airways in the lungs. It can not see out into the actual tissue of the lungs and some tumors are out there so while it is a great tool to have it too is limited in what it can do. JanMarie