GaryG

Hi and welcome. I am very surprised that the pulmonologist thinks it is cancer just from looking at a CT scan. As Lexi said, for now your best bet is to wait for the PT and biopsy results to find out. Waiting is difficult but there are no alternatives to the tests even if someone had the same experience with Covid-19.

Hi and welcome. I am very surprised that the pulmonologist thinks it is cancer just from looking at a CT scan. As Lexi said, for now your best bet is to wait for the PT and biopsy results to find out. Waiting is difficult but there are no alternatives to the tests even if someone had the same experience with Covid-19.

Hi and welcome. I am very surprised that the pulmonologist thinks it is cancer just from looking at a CT scan. As Lexi said, for now your best bet is to wait for the PT and biopsy results to find out. Waiting is difficult but there are no alternatives to the tests even if someone had the same experience with Covid-19.

K,
Welcome to our forum.  A 3cm growth is concerning, but all of us here have learned the lesson of waiting for all tests to be done before we go down one road or another.  So please read the info that Tom mentions (it's very good) and come back here with any questions you have also, make it a point to do a few things:
1.  Write down questions you have for the doctor as we can often forget them when we are nervous.
2.  Stay away from Dr. Google, there is little help there and even many of the stats are outdated because they run on 5-year averages and don't show the present rates for recovery, survival and such.  Stick with your medical team and what you'll read and learn here.
3.  Keep your mind in the present, until you have a diagnosis don't make any conclusions.  Once you have a diagnosis make sure you learn all you can about it, how it was concluded and (if needed) what treatments yield the best results for any condition you may have.
Good luck with your tests and please keep us posted.
Lou

Hi and welcome. I am very surprised that the pulmonologist thinks it is cancer just from looking at a CT scan. As Lexi said, for now your best bet is to wait for the PT and biopsy results to find out. Waiting is difficult but there are no alternatives to the tests even if someone had the same experience with Covid-19.

Hello K. Sorry to hear of your mass. I have heard of women turning up with breast "lumps" following COVID, revealed at routine mammograms. I don't think they were cancerous, though. I didn't follow up with the findings. I also am surprised that the pulmonologist would say "Cancer" without a PET and/or a biopsy. I know from experience that the appearance of a nodule or mass can indicate the state of it, but only a biopsy can say for sure what it is. I had a small nodule in my right lower lobe at age 75, had surgery to remove the lobe, and the pathologist found a 2nd tumor in there, and it was even a different kind of cancer. Luckily, though, removing the lobe and the cancers was all the treatment I needed. Unfortunately, there is another 2+ centimeter nodule in the middle lobe, called a spiculated, ground glass appearance that the doctors are watching with CT scans, but I finally have the Ins. OK for a PET/CT. I am allergic to the CT contrast medium so that makes it harder to see. I have also had breast cancer twice and thyroid cancer, but here I am!! Best wishes, have the tests you need, and know that we are still learning about COVID and its effects. I hope your mass is just an anomaly and clears up. Mamma-Om

Welcome. 3 cm is a pretty good sized little bugger. With the lymph nodes I would be pretty suspicious.
So. Cancer or not, you are learning the first lesson of the cancer struggle, hurry up and wait.
Keep us informed.
Peace 
Tom

K,
Welcome here.
Can COVID cause residual nodules? I wouldn't know but pulmonary nodules form for a lot of reasons and most are not cancer. Here is my go to resource for explaining why? After 17 years surviving lung cancer, my CT scans still show nodules. Mine appear, disappear, get larger and smaller, and I track them with a spread sheet to preserve my sanity.
Here is information about your PET scan that might help you understand the process and how results are characterized. This is a good place to pose your questions after you get your PET results. I do hope your nodule is of the "phantom" variety.
Stay the course.
Tom

Hi and welcome. I am very surprised that the pulmonologist thinks it is cancer just from looking at a CT scan. As Lexi said, for now your best bet is to wait for the PT and biopsy results to find out. Waiting is difficult but there are no alternatives to the tests even if someone had the same experience with Covid-19.

Hi and welcome. I am very surprised that the pulmonologist thinks it is cancer just from looking at a CT scan. As Lexi said, for now your best bet is to wait for the PT and biopsy results to find out. Waiting is difficult but there are no alternatives to the tests even if someone had the same experience with Covid-19.

I think a second opinion is a fine idea!

Interpreting PET results for metastasis versus inflammation is tricky. Read this for insight into PET results.
Stay the course.
Tom

genor              I am a Pancoast tumor survivor ! 
I had pain in my shoulder and arm and chest and thought it was muscular .
It was a tumor pressing on a nerve going down my arm and on my chest wall .  Thank
God the doctor did a chest x ray and saw it .     My story is found below .  Keep us posted 
 
Donna G

FWIW...get a second opinion but if it was me I would want the surgery. If my docs had known I had Large cell they may not have approved my surgery. I am so glad they didn't and that that vile tumor is gone.
Again. Just one man's opinion. Regardless I am rooting for you both.
Peace
Tom

Hi again: After my PT scan I met with a PA to learn the results. To my surprise she informed me that the PT scan shows activities in the lung as well as the prostate. She proceeded to say that the cancer may have started in the prostate and spread to the lung. It just happens that I had a procedure to remove excessive tissue from the prostate 3 months prior so I rejected her theory.  Bottom line PT scans can produce false alarms.
Even though as Bridget said, second opinions are beneficial, it seems that your medical team is on the right track by wanting to do surgery on the lung. Not only can they remove the cancer but they can also examine any other areas of concern and extract more tissue for biopsy.  My opinion would have been different if a treatment other than surgery was recommended. In that case I would prefer a biopsy on the spine first to eliminate the possibility of secondary cancer. 
This situation is one of the reasons I prefer treatment in an establishment where there is a cancer board. You get the opinion of many experts at the same time.  Best of luck and please post again as you go through the process.

Barb: great news indeed but maddening at the same time. Now if we manage to figure out how to asses the whole lung cancer population, for ALL immunotherapy drugs, it might increase our knowledge and improve the survival rate. It looks like we are so close but we rely solely on individual Pharma and their drive for profits. Why does a specific drug work for one patient and not another patient? That shouldn't be hard to figure out. If we combine all pharma results we should be able to target patients with the correct treatment instead of applying drugs based on a single clinical trial.
Thanks again.

Barb: great news indeed but maddening at the same time. Now if we manage to figure out how to asses the whole lung cancer population, for ALL immunotherapy drugs, it might increase our knowledge and improve the survival rate. It looks like we are so close but we rely solely on individual Pharma and their drive for profits. Why does a specific drug work for one patient and not another patient? That shouldn't be hard to figure out. If we combine all pharma results we should be able to target patients with the correct treatment instead of applying drugs based on a single clinical trial.
Thanks again.

Barb: great news indeed but maddening at the same time. Now if we manage to figure out how to asses the whole lung cancer population, for ALL immunotherapy drugs, it might increase our knowledge and improve the survival rate. It looks like we are so close but we rely solely on individual Pharma and their drive for profits. Why does a specific drug work for one patient and not another patient? That shouldn't be hard to figure out. If we combine all pharma results we should be able to target patients with the correct treatment instead of applying drugs based on a single clinical trial.
Thanks again.

Thanks for the update and sorry your Mom has cancer. Once the staging and Biomarker tests are complete it will be clear what type of drugs/regimen she will be on. We will be here to help you navigate through the ups and down should you need help. Stay strong.

Pass this along to your mother!
Stay the course.
Tom

Thanks for the update and sorry your Mom has cancer. Once the staging and Biomarker tests are complete it will be clear what type of drugs/regimen she will be on. We will be here to help you navigate through the ups and down should you need help. Stay strong.

Hello huj123:  I had a bronchoscopy  first to extract tissue and liquid on the inside. However my oncologist ordered a biopsy  as well. I would not worry about CT-guided needle biopsy because they can zero in on a very small area.
Make sure they take  enough tissue to perform more than one bio-marker test. Some members here had false readings on the first one and the second test found mutation. Best of luck!

My experience is that sedation depended on the type of bronchoscopy used. For a flexible bronchoscopy, I had minimal sedation. For the rigid scope, I had general anastasia. 
I’ve had four of these in my treatment experience. I don’t have any recollection of any part of the procedure except for a sore throat for a couple of days. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Here are more:

Here is a list of commonly used acronyms that are found throughout this site. I am SURE I missed a lot so I hope that as others come across more they will add them to this tread.
Warmly
Christine
lc, lung cancer
sclc, small cell lung cancer
nsclc, non small cell lung cancer
SOB, shortness of breath
NED, no evidence of disease
Dx or dx diagnosis
Tx or tx treatment
B-I-L, M-I-L, F-I-L, S-I-L, Brother, mother, father, or sister in-law
SO significant other
DH dear hubby
ONC, oncologist
PCP primary care physician
METS, metastasis
VATS, video assisted thoracoscopic surgery
WBR, whole brain radiation
SUV, "standardized uptake value," which is based on the amount of metabolic activity resulting from the pre-scan injection of irradiated sugar