yellowhair Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Good day, I went for a low dose lung screening scan since i am a smoker. I saw the report and maybe you have some imput as its driving me mad. It was brief and only said paraseptal emphysema and bilateral subcm pleural nodules. I dont see the nurse practitioner for a week, all imput appreciated. Thank you. I am 68 and smoked 45 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Hi, and welcome. Emphysema is common in smokers--if you haven't quit, you definitely should. Emphysema only gets worse, not better. As for the nodules, many people have lung nodules that are not cancerous. Yours are all quite small, so I suspect they will have you back in for another scan in 3 months or so to see if they have changed at all. If not, you might go back to annual scans just to keep an eye on them, unless there is something suspicious about their appearance (e.g., spiculation--having little spikes or rays, which is suspicious for cancer). No need to panic--just follow up with the pulmonologist. And this would really be a great time to quit smoking. (No judgment here, I smoked till I got my first scan, showing nodules.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Yellowhair, One thing to add to Lexie's advice. Here is my go to resource on pulmonary nodules. It explains what types are found and why the occur. Note that most are not cancer. Hopefully, you'll get a good explanation of next steps at your practitioner consult. Don't be surprised if it is watch and rescan. That is common in instances in scans that report small nodules. Stay the course. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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