Sandra

[Sandra Flower]

Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada.  I was diagnosed with low risk colon cancer in February 2019.  I have been having regular scans since. In January 2021 I had a CT scan of chest, abdomen and pelvis and everything normal.  I had a MRI on my abdomen in July 2021 and they noted a nodule in my left lung, the superior lingula.  They went back and checked on my scan of January 2021 and in hindsight they saw it as being 8mm in January.  I just had a chest CT scan 2 weeks ago and the lesion is noted as being spiculated and 17mm x 22mm.  I will be having a PET scan, blood work and pulmonary function test next week and a needle biopsy the following week.  My doctor following me for colon cancer doesn't know if it is a colon met or primary lung cancer.  He said mets are usually multiple in number and mine is solitary. Nothing else seems to be out of the ordinary on my MRI and last CT scan.  Can mets show up as spiculated?  Thanks.

[LexieCat]

Hi, Sandra, and welcome. I don't know about whether lung mets from colon cancer could be spiculated, but my first lung cancer diagnosis was for a spiculated nodule. The growth, plus the spiculation, make the nodule suspicious, but I would presume that if your oncologist can't say whether it's a metastasis, nobody here is going to be able to. I suspect the only way to tell for sure is by biopsy, if one is possible, or by a pathology exam after surgery, if not. Hopefully that will give you the answer. 

[Sandra Flower]

I am going for a needle biopsy September 13.  Just trying to wrap my thoughts around the possibility of having a new primary cancer or now stage 4 colon

 

[LouT]

Hi Sandra,

I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2010 and had to have resection surgery.  I was lucky that the cancer never recurred. 

In 2019 a nodule was found on my lung and there was consideration as to whether it was a met from the earlier colon cancer or not.  Once my lobectomy was done and the nodule was tested it was found to be contain primary lung cancer cells and not something that metastasized from my earlier cancer.  I asked why they couldn't tell me that before and the answer was right in line with what Lexie shared with you;  they needed to get a hold of the nodule and study it to determine it's origin.  Let's see what comes back from you biopsy test and please ask them to do genetic testing in the event you qualify for immunotherapy.  We'll be waiting to hear your update.

Lou

[Sandra Flower]

Thanks. I will update for sure.

[Rower Michelle]

Hi Sandra,

My mother was treated for endometrial cancer and was in remission for four years when a routine surveillance scan identified suspicious lung nodules.  This was all as COVID was kicking into high gear in New Jersey.  All outpatient procedures were canceled.   For a long time we had to wait for a biopsy to determine what type of cancer was potentially in the lungs.  My mother’s oncologist said a lung cancer diagnosis would be the best outcome as it would have been early stage and treated with curative intent.   It was really weird to hope for lung cancer- but that does describe how far the treatment options have become.   
Diagnosis is not prognosis, even a stage IV colon cancer has expanded treatment options (which stem from the lung cancer science).   
Take this one procedure at a time, try not to get ahead of yourself.  Glad you found us. 
Michelle

[ChiMama]

Hi Sandra - Like Lou and others, I started with colon cancer and later lung cancer... in 2016 i was dx with colon cancer, had it removed - stage 1. During the initial pre-op scan a small 8/9mm lung nodule was noted. One scan report said spiculated but over the years the scan reports varied and sometimes mentioned spiculation and sometimes not. Even early on when the CT report said it was spiculated, my pulmonologist and oncologist weren't overly concerned and just had it on the watch list.  It remained stable until April 2020 when it had grown 2mm so a biopsy was ordered.

Like you I was concerned about it being a CC met, but the biopsy showed primary lung cancer adenocarcinoma, and I had a lobectomy in July 2020. I feel a little lucky that it was lung cancer and not a met but I also know that the treatments and prognosis for stage 4 CC have come a long way in recent years and many people are doing very well, living well for many years, and even becoming cancer free.

If you haven't found it yet, there's a great support forum at the Colon Club.  There's a sub-group there of people with lung nodules who call themselves "The Lung Thang Gang."  They may have more references as to whether CC lung mets can show up as spiculated.  Someone in that group recommended this Lungevity group which is how I found the awesome community here. Fingers crossed for you!
💜

[Sandra Flower]

I belong to Colontown which is a colon cancer support group.  They have a place for lung mets on their site.  I asked about appearance of lungs mets, specifically if they were spiculated, but I didn't get much feedback.  My last chest CT scan showed no enlarged lymph nodes or bone lesions, so I am taking that is good news if this is lung cancer?

 

[LexieCat]

A CT scan tells you only so much. A PET CT is more accurate in terms of showing any metastasis. Certainly no enlarged nodes or visible lesions is better than having something obvious, but I had a tiny metastasis on my sacrum that "lit up" on the PET CT but could be seen only with a later MRI. 

You'll make yourself nuts trying to figure out what something very preliminary might mean. I say that as the voice of experience, lol. At most, early tests usually give hints of things that should be checked further.