Got a question?!

[Christine79]

Hello everyone,

     It’s been a couple weeks since I was on but I have been trying to stay focused to my kids and mentally escape the stress of all of this. Because I was to the point of extreme depression. But I got the call this morning regarding my ct w/contrast last week and the nodule that was 11.5 mm is now down to 7.8. I have read a few studies (and the biopsy doc also said) that shrinkage is rare for cancerous nodules but it has happened. So they don’t rule them as benign. But the studies I have found only showed a shrinkage if 1-2 mm. I didn’t ask the biopsy doc how many mm he has seen that still turned out to be cancer. So my question is, has anyone experienced this and it still ended up being cancer??? 

[LexieCat]

Well, it's always hard to say whether a nodule has actually shrunk/grown when you are talking millimeters.  The angle of the scan can make it look slightly different in size.  So the fact that it hasn't grown, apparently, is a good thing, but whether it's actually shrunk is debatable.  Maybe it did, or maybe it's just the angle of the scan.  Bottom line is I don't think they can definitively make any conclusions based on that.

[Christine79]

Well my first three catscans showed 11 mm, then the pet scan showed 8, then the second failed biopsy five days after the petscan, he confirmed it was down to 8 in all directions and less dense. Then my last ct on a Friday (which is my 5th catscan now since June but first one with contrast) they said it is down to 7.8 and they clearly notated it was down from 11.5 originally to 7.8. So mine is down almost 4 mm. But i found a couple of studies that showed some malignant ones have been known to shrink before taking off and the biopsy doctor said that it is not common for malignant ones to shrink but it can happen. So I just wandered if anyone has experienced it. @LexieCat