Teresa:
I have had 3 needle biopsies and they are not that bad. And so far, you really don't have any conflicting information. Unless a bronchoscopy or a needle biopsy comes back as positive for cancer, it is considered inconclusive. If the needle biopsy does not find cancer, the only way your dad may find out for sure is to have a wedge resection and put the tumor on the operating table and then have a pathologist test it on the spot. My needle biopsies were all inconclusive.
Looking back on it, I wonder why they bothered with the bronchoscopy and lung needle biopsies for me. If they can't establish that I have cancer, then the next step is an open biopsy. At the time I was looking at surgery as my treatment. If they find out that it is cancer with the needle or a bronchoscopy, they would cut me open anyway. So why bother with that stuff and just cut to the chase and cut it out and then see what it is? I can see trying to establish what kind of cancer it is with less invasive tests if you are going to just have chemo, but I was a surgery candidate as your dad may be.
The waiting to find out what to do if it is cancer is the hardest part and I hope you soon get answers.
Don M