Confused - Cancer: Lung Message Board

deb4042 · 09-18-2005, 12:49 PM

Hello out there. I need help please. I am a 45 year old female who has smoked for over 30 years. A pack of cigarettes would last me 3 days. This has been my habit for all those years. I would smoke maybe 5 to 6 cigarettes a day. I recently quit and am still struggling with it. I went to my primary doctor recently and requested a spiral ct and x-ray of my chest and lungs due to the recent death of Peter Jennings and small warning signs coming at me. When I went back for the results, her words were "if you go hunting for something, you will find something". They chest x-ray did not pick up anything. The spiral CT found a 3 centimeter spot on my left lung. My doctor's advise was that it could be nothing and that we should wait a few months to take another ct in January. My concern is that what if it is serious and what can we do now. I dont know what to do. Should I wait as my doctor suggests or should I go see a specialist. I am scared and my mind keeps wondering with all kinds of stuff. I have not told anyone about this. I am afraid to say anything because I dont want to worry my husband or children if its not needed. Please help me.

tuckygal · 09-18-2005, 03:52 PM

Hello, take it from a thirty year smoker who was very lucky that my small cell lung cancer went to a lymph node by my collar bone, which got very large very quickly, or I would not have seen a doctor until it was very advanced. I would definitely see a specialist and be on the safe side. Small cell lung cancer spreads very quickly and I am in remission right now because mine was caught fairly early. A PET scan should show up cancer cells if they are there and if so, you would be in the best position to fight it with treatment. Of course it could be nothing, but I would have it checked out further. Best of luck and I will pray for you that it is nothing harmful.

PitBull1993 · 09-18-2005, 05:39 PM

Idiaz:

Definitely go to a pulmonary doctor and he will probably send you for a pet scan which will tell if it's cancer or not.

My husband had gotten non small cell cancer and he has quit smoking 25 years before that. They found it early because he had gotten pneumonia and was in the hospital for it and that's when they found a spot on his upper right lobe and decided not to wait to see if it got bigger so once he recovered from the pnumonia he came home from the hospital and had numerous other tests done and two weeks later had the surgery and thank god he did, they got it before it spread. They did chemo on him for precaution and he's fine today. It will be six years in Dec.

Good Luck but see a specialist soon, better to be safe than sorry.

Janmarie2 · 09-18-2005, 06:40 PM

I add my vote to the go see a pulmonary specialist and not wait. If it is cancer "time is tissue" as they say with heart attacks, strokes ect. The longer you wait the more damage it does. There are many reasons people get nodules in their lungs so it may not be cancer but that is still worth the piece of mind you will get by knowing. Read the post " one year ago today" if you have not already done so. The fact that you are female and a smoker should have made your doctor want to check it out further rather then take the let's wait and see attitude. Last night I took care of an older woman that had lung cancer 25 years ago, they found it early and got it out and she did not even have chemo or radiation and here it is 25 years later and she remains cancer free so finding it early can make a huge difference. I also believe in listening to that inner voice and if your inner voice was telling you to go see a doctor and get an X-ray and CT and a nodule was found..yes I would listen to my inner voice before I listen to others.Our bodies know when things are not right and some people are blessed in the fact that they hear that inner voice telling them things are not right and they then listen to it and take action. I would also urge you to tell your husband as yes you may be causing him to worry about something that turns out to be nothing but this is not the time to play protecter as you need someone to lean on and get you through all of this. Most people also do not like it when a loved one hides something like this from them as they want to be there for you,so do not go it alone. Your post made me decide to e-mail a pulmonary doctor that I have worked with for years and ask him why the doctors tend to take a wait and see attitude. Veterinarians use to do that too and recently while talking to an older vet he told me he was at a conference and one of the topics was tumors and the vet that gave the talk started out with case studies and it was a Cat that had no signs of illness but the owner had found a lump.The question was what do you do next? The older vet raised his hand to answer and said I would tell the patient we will wait and watch it reevaluate it in a few months. The vet giving the lecture said " Well you just killed the Cat as it had a very aggressive form of cancer" so our older vet learned you no longer wait but suggest a biopsey! And I know my own vet always suggests we biopsey lumps and bunps so I wonder when are human doctors going to see that light? Anyway I will let you know what the good doctor tells me. Keep us posted on what you find out as we are all here for you be it good news or bad news but I will pray it is good news.

Best of luck, JanMarie

deb4042 · 09-18-2005, 07:51 PM

Thank you Tuckygal, Pitbull1993, and Janmarie2 all so much for your responses. I will definitely seek a specialist and request the PET scan. Your words help me realize that I need to move on this quickly. I feel so much better to speak with others about my concerns. Janmarie, I will talk with my husband about it. I will keep all of you posted and I appreciate your kind words and prayers. Tears came to my eyes as I read each of your replies to know that I am not alone in this.