Hi Kelly:
I have had 2 bronchoscopies and 3 needle biopsies, all of which were inconclusive. The only way they found out what kind of cancer I had was to cut it out with a wedge resection, analyze it on the table and then cut out the rest of the affected lung tissue when it was apparent the mass was malignant. I have had two surgeries in which the upper left lobe was removed and then a year later, the lower lobe was removed. Maybe your surgeon wants to cut to the chase and just take out the mass and go from there. I would ask if a full body PET/CT scan could be done just to make sure there is no cancer in distant organs and lymph nodes. The cat scan, if it covers the chest and abdomen, would show any nodules in distant organs and large lymph nodes, but a PET scan would show whether any of the nodules light up or not. If they light up, they are growing fast and may be malignant. I think your surgeon is trying to make sure you have a localized cancer. If he is satisfied that it is local, he may talk to you at your next appointment about cutting it out with a wedge resection and then do further surgery on the spot if it is found to be malignant.
I think the chances are that is local since it is golf ball sized.
Don M