Hi all,
Just posting to get things 'off my chest' so to speak, as I am seriously worried at the moment.
I am a 38 yr old male (well, 38 1/2) who this past Friday was told by my doctor that I have a 6-7mm nodule in my lungs based on a chest x-ray. I was not prepared for being told that, and didn't really ask the questions I probably should have.
I do not know if it is one or multiple (when I asked how big IT was, he said 6-7mm, but on the referral sheet it says, "Nodules"), I don't know which lung(s) nor where in the lungs. I also don't have any recent x-rays to compare it to - last one was probably years and years ago at this point.
What really makes me worry is that I have been having breathing issues for a while now. I pretty much feel like I have to clear my throat constantly, have developed a cough over time that has gotten worse (not like I'm choking or have to keep hacking, but a single cough or two, just have to do it every 10 minutes). My nose feels like it is very congested and I have problems breathing through it, my mouth also feels a little constricted; I can take a deep breath with no pain or problem, just a little tight. No wheezing, but I do snore. According to the doc my lungs sound fine.
I am ALSO having chest pain, mostly localized to the left of the sternum and also the bottom left rib...I have had pain here in the past, and was told it was costochrondritis. The pain sometimes radiates to my middle/upper back and feels kind of burning-y; but almost always localizes back to the two areas I listed above (it is not constant - it comes and goes throughout the day and is not worse when laying down).
I also have signs of serious LPR (silent reflux), a nasal endoscopy showed my throat looking pretty beat up. Been on nasal sprays and prilosec, currently on Nexium 2x day, and not really helping...
All together its got me really worried, pulmonologist apt. on Wednesday, but having a hard time mentally.
Out of space, so thanks for reading!
Reply # - June 2, 2014, 07:40 PM
Reply To: 7mm Nodule w/ Symptoms
I apologize - I thought I was posting to the New Questions forum...if a mod could move this there and/or to the appropriate place, it would be much appreciated!
Thanks!!!!
Reply # - June 4, 2014, 01:14 PM
Reply To: 7mm Nodule w/ Symptoms
Hi jl12, I know you didn't ask a question or for help but I have to assume that's why you started this thread. What you're describing is all very non specific. I know it feels specific, but lots of people have lung nodules and most aren't cancer and something as small as a 7mm nodule is too small to cause problems. So I hope you understand there's nothing our faculty can say to help.
Dr. West said this recently in another post, "Because GRACE is designed to provide cancer information for people with an established diagnosis of cancer, and we are cancer experts, we really focus on how to manage people once they have been diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, we can’t really help guide people in a general workup of nonspecific complaints, especially after people have already seen and been worked up by many other doctors.
I sincerely hope you don’t ever need our services, but if you are ultimately diagnosed with cancer and need information on how to manage it, I think we’ll be able to be far more helpful."
I hope your appointment went well.
All the best,
Janine
Reply # - June 4, 2014, 06:43 PM
Reply To: 7mm Nodule w/ Symptoms
I tried to address your question, but the comment seems to have vanished. Your symptoms are very common and not specific for cancer (i.e., many things could cause them), but they wouldn't be likely at all to be associated with a small nodule. I suspect that the appropriate next step should be a chest CT, which should provide incredibly greater detail.
Good luck.
-Dr. West
Reply # - June 10, 2014, 10:24 AM
Reply To: 7mm Nodule w/ Symptoms
Thank you all for your responses...
I just received my CT results (though haven't had my pulmonologist follow-up - just recieved a copy of the report).
It shows two calcified nodules, one 6mm in the left upper lung, and one 5mm in the superior segment of the left lower lobe. Also notes that there are a few small calcified lymph nodes in the aorticopulmonary window, but no other lymphadenopathy is seen (not sure what that means???).
Otherwise it states that lungs are otherwise clear.
On a side note - it states that I may have mild scoliosis showing, as well as a "probable" small hiatal hernia...
So, I'm hoping that all of this is (relatively) good news??
It became a bit scarier as literally a few days (but after my post here) ago my girlfriend's uncle was put in the hospital with a lung mass that was malignant.
Thanks, again!
Jeff.
Reply # - June 10, 2014, 10:56 AM
Reply To: 7mm Nodule w/ Symptoms
Hi Jeff,
In his presentation on pulmonary nodules, Dr. Yankelevitz described patterns of calcification that indicate a nodule is benign:
"If we see that a nodule is calcified, and there are certain patterns of calcification that we can be 100 percent sure that a nodule is benign, and there’s another pattern: if we see a nodule and we know that we have old pictures of this patient, and the nodule hasn’t changed in size for several years, then we can also be certain that it’s benign. And these two criteria, it turns out, have been around since as early as the 1950s from chest x-rays. So these are two that have really stood the test of time, and these are patterns that if you thought of this as a nodule, this is what a benign and the white would be the calcium. If it’s centrally calcified, or if it has these kind of ring-shape calcifications, these are the typical benign patterns. These two are two other patterns that are also benign." - http://cancergrace.org/lung/files/2011/12/dr-yankelevitz-pulm-nodules-e…
I'm sure the meeting with your pulmonologist will provide more insight into the scan findings.
JimC
Forum moderator