If it's growing does that automatically mean it's cancer?

[Debbie2003]

My pulmo thinks my 2 nodules are cancer because they were not on the last CTScan I had 7 months ago. They are 4 mm in upper right and 8 mm in lower right. He says because of the growth, they are probably cancer. I am getting the report today to read for myself. I'm not sure if they are Calcified, but I think I remember him saying they weren't, which I guess is bad. They don't have round edges but they also don't have the other type of edge. They don't fit into either one.

Can't other things grow in that length of time? Can't benigns nodules grow fast like that? I know that most benign have a doubling time of either under 30 days or over 500 days. Mine doesn't fall into that time frame. Can't it be something else that grows? Is the doubling type the most important indicator?

Thanks.

[Fay A.]

Debbie,

I can't answer your questions...but I can tell you that just because a nodule contains calcification does not mean it isn't malignant. That's what my docs told me during those years they were insisting that I did NOT have lung cancer. Up to 30% of Adenocarcinomas contain some calcium speckling...

Not all nodules are malignant. If you are not comfortable with what this physician has told you then you need to seek an opinion from a physician or facility that you DO trust. We are talking about a very serious disease, so you need to be sure of your diagnosis.

Having said all that, I can honestly state "What I wouldn't give had my doctors removed the nodule and diagnosed my lung cancer when my first original tumor was only 5 mm. " It was found during a CT scan for something else.

Best advice I can give you is to Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and deal with what actually IS. A diagnosis of lung cancer is not an automatic death sentence. More and more of us are surviving longer periods.

Best Wishes,

Fay A.

[Debbie2003]

Hi Fay -

You said that your Doctors kept telling you that you didn't have LC when you actually did, and I was wondering what did they base that opinion on? And what finally gave you the right diagnosis?

My problem with doctors is that there are very few that I do trust. They all tell me something different about the other lung problems I've had. Plus, these two nodules are also getting different "reviews". The pulmo who saw them on a CT Scan thinks they are cancer - 75%, but she's pretty sure they are by their appearance. She didn't have the radiologist report though, but she looked at the actual films. She is leaning that way because I am a former smoker and because they grew. Then my general internist called today and said "oh, these are probably nothing. If you were to scan people, you'd find many things like these. My gut instinct is that this is nothing." Of course, he had the recent CT Scan report but not sure if he remembered to look at the previous CT Scan report that didn't show them. They are new and they grew in 7 months. Not sure if he'd still be so calm with that info. I have to talk to him again about it but first I had to do the PET Scan today. Luckily, I was already seeing an oncologist who is a blood specialist for my previous anemia. So the oncologist will give me the results of the PET.

I'm trying so hard to be positive, but I have a knot in my stomach that won't go away.

[Fay A.]

The docs told me that I didn't have lung cancer because the nodule and lymph nodes contained calcification. Because I was a former and light smoker (a 9 pack year smoking history) they didn't think I was at risk for lung cancer. They insisted that what I had was COPD and emphysema, even though the eventual surgeries would show no COPD or emphysema at all...only solid, part-solid, and non-solid tumors.

I understand the knot in your stomach, and I wish I could say something that would make that knot go away. You may not have lung cancer, and that's what I'm praying for...that you DON'T have it. But if you do please try to remember that this isn't an automatic death sentence. There is very real reason to hope that you will be one of the early stage and long term lung cancer survivors.

I'm keeping all movable body parts crossed that your PET scan comes back clean, and that you do not have lung cancer.

Hope you will let us know how things go for you. We care....a lot.

[Debbie2003]

Thank you Fay. You're so sweet and caring.

The PET went well today. After the injection, they had me sit in these huge comfy leather chair in a quiet and calm room and said not to talk. My daughter was also able to stay in the room with me. I had to wait 40 minutes. Then the did the scan.

On Monday I'll know the results. I decided that if it is a worst case scenaro, I will have enough fear to face on Monday. So until then, I decided to *try* and relax for the rest of the week. Maybe this is the calm before the storm so I should enjoy it. But thanks for reminding me that there are treatments and survivors!! Even the Pulmo who thinks it's cancer said that it's treatable (of course that was before the 2nd one was found.) I have had so many other lung problems in the past two years that I just fear I won't even make it through the treatment.

I guess I should stop reading about certain things because I'm not able to view it at a distance. I'm going to try and take a deep breathe. People survive cancer. And there are new treatments being developed all the time.