Finally scheduled for a biopsy

[JerseyRose]

I had my first PET scan on August 17th and was supposed to get a bronchoscopy a week or two later. Then the interventional pulmonologist who was going to do this procedure  had some kind of medical problem and was out of work for over a month. He referred me to another doctor in Philadelphia to get the bronchoscopy  done there. I live in Southern NJ and couldn’t get transportation out of state so we had to make alternate plans to have my biopsy done locally. After waiting patiently for a few months, I was finally referred to a radiologist in my local area to get a CT guided needle lung biopsy instead of the bronchoscopy. I’m now scheduled to have this procedure done next Tuesday. Can anybody tell me if one procedure is better than the other for confirming lung cancer diagnosis? I have two small nodules in my right lung but only one lit up on my PET scan. There was no sign of cancer anywhere else in my body and my oncologist told me that  I caught it early where surgery would be an option for me after the biopsy.

[Judy M2]

I only had a bronchoscopy, because I had a large enough tumor in my left lung. Other than a minor sore throat for a couple of days, the procedure was easy.

Maybe they're suggesting the needle biopsy because you only have the one suspicious nodule. Sounds like this is early stage. Fingers crossed for you. 

[BridgetO]

I think it depends in part on the location of the tumor. Some can be reached by bronchoscope and some by needle and some by both. And some, like mine, can't be reached either way, so surgery is needed. I hope your needle biopsy is easy for you. Please keep us posted.

Bridget O

[LexieCat]

Ditto what Bridget said. I got a bronchoscopy this time, but when I had my lobectomy, it wasn't possible to biopsy. Also, my surgeon said that even if a biopsy was negative, the nodule was suspicious enough he'd want to surgically remove it either way. 

I imagine the CT itself might be informative in your case--if it's cancerous, there's a good chance it's grown since your original scan.

 

[Jennedy]

I had 2 broncoscopies in a week. The first didn't show any cancer because apparently the didn't reach the tumor. The second was CBUS, ultrasound guided so they were sure they got good tissue. I did cough up a little blood after the second one, but basically just had a scratchy throat for a day or so.

[GaryG]

I had both. The doctor told me that the results of the bronchoscopy were negative just to call me one week later and tell me that I have lung cancer. My guess he got 2 results on 2 different occasions. When you have the biopsy make sure to tell your doctor to take enough tissue to perform all the necessary tests especially biomarker testing.. In my case that was not the case. Both procedures are good depending on the location of cancer. Best wishes.