Lung nodule found on CTScan

Hi Robin, I have a very small nodule on my lung as well . The doctor said it is so small that it is amazing that it was even picked up. He also told me that it is very common for people in the Northeast and areas of industrial pollution to have "spots" on their lungs. My mom has one too. We haven't done any scans since my initial scans in December 2013. I hope the best for you!

Just want to share with you - I had a small nodule picked up in a regular chest xray that I had taken for a presurgical exam. It was 6 mm. (This was 5 years prior to my being diagnosed with BC). I was also a smoker so I was frantic with fear. I too had a cat scan - non calcified - slightly irregular, etc. - then one every 6 months for two years with a final scan in the third year. It never changed. When I got diagnosed with BC, I told the onc and though it was seen in my full body cat scan it still had not changed. I am now 7 1/2 years out from triple neg bc and nothing ever came of the little nodule in my lung - that has been there over 10 or more years. Hope this helps you. I wish you the best.

Lung nodules do tend to be common. Hoping yours remains unchanged. After chemo, I developed pain and numbness in both hands. I have since had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands; they think the chemo "irritated" or caused some inflammation to delveop. Hoping yours is as simple a fix as that. An EMG would help determine the source.

Hey Robin! Ditto to the messages above: my tiny nodules seen on lung CT were stable upon follow-up, which means no worries (they can also show up after experiencing infections like bronchitis). I had a trigger finger from letrozole, also fairly common. Cleared up with steroid shot.

My dual diagnoses of ILC & IDC, similar to yours, were sufficient to qualify me for mutation testing. There are now known to be many pathogenic DNA variations out there beyond BRCA 1/2. It looks like you chose to have risk reducing oopherectomy so perhaps you've already been down that road or maybe it was done in order for you to start taking aromatase inhibitors instead of tamoxifen

Your cute picture appears pretty young. When breast cancer appears prior to menopause, that can also be an indication of an inherited tendency. Consider requesting a referral to a genetic counselor. Even if you met with one a few years ago, the situation has changed since then with less expensive, broader panel analyses available. Not to give you more to worry about but knowledge is power.

I've had many times nodules in the lung showing on CT scans in almost 7 years. Even the feared "ground glass" appearance ones. They showed up then disappeared. I have a spot on the first right rib for two years now, unchanged. I'm on the same regime of watchful waiting with imaging done periodically.

Also, yes, it may be letrozole. AIs have caused severe advancing osteoarthritis for me, with the cervical area being the worst, including spinal stenosis. So, as weird as it may sound, let's hope that's the case for you too.

Lung "abnormalities" can show up because somewhere down the road you had a bad flu or cold. While always needing to be followed, it doesn't mean they are cancer from the get go. Scary though. I had liver spots that scared me but a pet scan revealed them to be cysts. I know the fear.

Winters74,

I too, have lung nodules, and liver and adrenals. The liver they think are cyst because they have been watching them since May, and no changes, the Adrenal 2.8cm lesion grew quickly then stopped and the MRI says it is adipose tissue, but the latest is 2 lung lesions 9mm that were not there in May, but were in November They were rescanned in Jan but the Jan CT scan, they could not seen the lesions because of ground glass opacity they attributed to radiation pneumonitis. But, they can't see the lesions. I have another CT scan scheduled for March 27th. I also recently have seen a pulmonary specialist that is following my case. I see him again April 9th. I have no symptoms and they did a pulmonary function test for a baseline incase this turns to more serious fibrosis. I am more worried about those lesions than the fibrosis. I understand your concern. I'm worried there is not going to be anything to learn about the growth or not of these lesions from this new CT scan this month unless the inflammation has cleared up from the radiation damage. Good luck to you and I hope your lesions are nothing. I also had my cancer markers done in November and again in January, they did increase slightly in January as well, but still in the normal range. Keep us informed!