Hi I am new to the group. I guess I'm not sure where to from where I am in my own medical journey. I had pneumonia during pregnancy which didn't clear for around 6/7 months. A CTPA was done by my doctor in Dec as I was quite breathless and he suspected an embolism due to the fact I was also quite pale and had aching in my legs. This showed that I had a consolidation in my right lower lobe but did not say what it could be. I was put on some strong antibiotics which didn't reduce my breathlessness so another CTPA was performed in Feb which showed that everything was normal and there was no consolidation or nodules or abnormalities. I guess I'm not confident with the scan results as I am still experiencing symptoms. I don't know whether a CTPA would detect lung cancer?
Not sure where to from here - 1286744
nervousmum15
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Reply # - August 1, 2016, 08:06 AM
Hi nervousmum15,
Hi nervousmum15,
Welcome to GRACE. I'm sorry to hear of your symptoms and the worry they have caused you. If there were a lung tumor, a CTPA (which is essentially a standard CT with additional features used to look for pulmonary emboli) would be very likely to show it, and the fact that what was seen previously does not appear now makes it extremely unlikely that you had or have lung cancer. Without treatment, cancer tends to grow rather than disappear.
I hope that further workup will discover the cause of your shortness of breath, with a relatively straightforward solution to treat it.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - August 10, 2016, 03:02 AM
Thank you for replying. I am
Thank you for replying. I am reassured by your comments. I am still very pale and breathless. I have so much joint pain in my knees, hands, feet and spine... on top of that my fingers are clubbed. This is why I thought the ctpa scan may not have been the correct scan as from what I have read online I have many symptoms of a lung malignancy. My ctpa was back in Feb so I don't know whether I should get a repeat. I have had recent chest and spine xrays which are all clear. The clubbing only recently started on my fingertips. I was getting so much pain and was told I most likely have an autoimmune disorder but tests came back negative. Alongside that my tsh has become suppressed. So I now have subclinical hyperthyroid.. my health is so bad but the more I visit my doctor the less seriously they take me. I am a young female with 3 children and no history of cancer. Apparently those things point toward a mental health issue. But here I am getting worst. Frustrating.
Reply # - August 10, 2016, 03:06 AM
This is why I mentioned in my
This is why I mentioned in my first post that I didn't know where to go from this point. I've asked for a referral to an internist but GP has refused and said a rheumatologist is more likely. I may try my luck with a chest mri. I wasn't too bothered by all this until my nails started looking weird and I searched online and found that they're clubbed nails.