No diagnosis yet after PET scan.

[GeoffR]

Hi everyone.

Found this forum, and even before joining I have found it extremely useful. I'm writing this just to say thankyou.

I have started the journey.. 60yo male Australian. I had a cough a couple of month's ago, so went to see the doctor who sent me off for a CT scan. (cough only lasted 4 days)

I'd had a scan 2 1/2 yrs ago and they found 2 small nodules- I think 4 and 6mm. I was told not to worry and get a scan every year... which i didn't!  

Anyhow, with the new scan they found that they had grown, 13 an 17mm.

I've since had a PET scan which showed activity. Now I'm waiting to see the surgeon on the 31st of this month to schedule surgery for the biopsy.

Yes, freaking out!

Obviously very new to this, so I'll have a million questions.

Again. Thanks    

[LouT]

GeoffR,

Welcome to our forums.  You'll find a lot of useful/important information here as well as many survivors that will share their experiences and learnings with you.  Growth in nodules are an important point of consideration when diagnosing lung cancer, so is a PET Scan.  But the key determinant is always the biopsy and that is where you'll learn for sure if these nodules have become malignant or not.  At this point you are still not diagnosed with cancer, so I'll hold off sharing information that concludes that you are.  Instead I'll share information you should know during the diagnostic phase of this journey.  It is called "Diagnosing Lung Cancer" and can be found in the Lung Cancer 101 section of our webpage and you can find it here.  In the meantime feel free to peruse our forums and you'll see a number of survivor stories that can attest to the fact that today Lung Cancer is not the automatic death sentence that it once was.  The initial response all of us has had was one of shock, disbelief and panic.  You're not alone with those feelings, but, if your biopsy does show malignancy, there is more hope than you would have thought possible.  Lung cancer treatments have come further in the last 5-10 years than in the previous 50.  So, consider the hope when you read the stories of others and do all you can to take care of yourself; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  These things will be a clear advantage to you wherever this journey leads.  Fingers crossed for your biopsy to go well.  

Lou

[Tom Galli]

Welcome Geoff!

Freaking out seems par for the course in our community. We have a scan and life changes, filled with a strange technical language almost no one understands. My best advice is to learn everything you can about this disease so you can ask terribly preceptive questions to your doctors. Here is where you can make a good start.

As for questions, tee them up. We are not physicians but understand this disease in a way few physicians appreciate. 

Stay the course.

Tom

[BridgetO]

Hi Geoff, Waiting is the hardest part, to quote Tom Petty.  First you wait for the biopsy appointment and then you wait for the results.  This is all anxiety producing for sure! Take a deep breath and hang in there.  Hope for good biopsy results. If they're not good, hang in there and take a bunch more deep breaths. Whatever your going through, somebody else has gone through the same or very similar. As Tom said, learning all you can is a good idea, but be careful where you learn it. If you cruise around Google, you can find statistics that are way outdated-- as Lou said,  lung cancer treatment has come a long way in the last few years, so old stuff  is just, that--OLD.  And even fairly recent stuff can be "old" in the sense that it takes a long time for studies to be conducted and then more time for them to be published. 

Keep us informed, ask us any questions you might have, and let us know how we can support you. That's what we're here for. 

Bridget O