Tiny lung nodule

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hi ladies my mom has completed her radiation therapy on February 2018 and 6 rounds of chemo on December 2017,also had MRM on June 2017. Her doctors asks for a whole body pet ct scan for precautions which we performed on 18th January 2019,and the results shows a tiny pulmonary nodule with no fdg uptake,suggestive follow up. Now how concerning is this? We have an appointment with her doctor on 23rd. But I am freaking out now. Please help me with your experiences kindly. Thanx in advance

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  • carmstr835
    carmstr835 Member Posts: 388
    edited January 2019

    I had 2 of these about 3 months after radiation, then it was obscured for 6 months because of inflammation caused by radiation damage, all of this cleared up and now a year later no nodules or inflammation. Good luck, but don't be too worried, mine was nothing at all, and I was plenty worried.

  • rockymountaingirl
    rockymountaingirl Member Posts: 78
    edited January 2019

    Lung nodules are pretty common, and usually NOT caused by cancer. I've had some for years, possibly caused by pneumonia that I had about a million years ago. They don't cause any trouble. Try to relax -- easier said than done, I know -- this tiny nodule may be nothing at all.

  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited January 2019

    Most are benign. Hoping the same here!

  • Jenkins00
    Jenkins00 Member Posts: 144
    edited January 2019

    My husband has had one for years. They are pretty common and his hasn’t changed in size.

  • JoE777
    JoE777 Member Posts: 628
    edited January 2019

    I had multiple nodules in both lungs at my first pet scan. Small, but lit up - couldn't be sure if it was even cancer. My treatment for the bone mets of HR+ Would be the same for the nodules. They began to reduce and some disappeared but were indeed lung mets. I've worried less about those because the treatment has been the same and I have never had symptoms. Hang in there. J

  • muska
    muska Member Posts: 1,195
    edited January 2019

    Usually, they perform some type of scan before starting treatments - to get a baseline. From your description, it is not clear what baseline she had before treatments started, i.e. whether this is a a new nodule or something she had from the start. If she had it from the start and it hasn't changed in size - this is a good sign because cancerous nodes often disappear during active treatment. You mentioned no uptake on petscan which if I understand correctly is a good sign.

    In my case, baseline CT before treatments showed multiple tiny nodules in both lungs. I have been followed closely by regular CT scans for four years since diagnosis and the nodules remained unchanged. The size is not the only attribute that matters, the appearance is important too. Some of mine were more suggestive of lung cancer precursor than BC. In any case, after four years radiologists did not recommend any further screening in the absence of symptoms. My MO is a bit hesitant to stop it altogether and might recommend repeating CT at some point.

    I hope your Mom's node is benign. Best.

  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited January 2019

    I have mets and I have lung nodules I've had for 10 years now. They're not cancer.

    Most likely the docs will say do nothing, scan again in 6 months. If they don't grow they're not cancer. And generally speaking it would be a surprise if this was a met.

  • pippy1963
    pippy1963 Member Posts: 36
    edited February 2019

    I get my Lung biopsy tomorrow. The specialist said he has a 60 percent chance of getting a sample if not they will just watch it. That doesn't make sense to me at all. They call it a mass. Is that different than a node?. I was told its the size of a nickle. I just lost my father to lung cancer so this has me terrified. I don't smoke now years ago i was an occasional smoker grew up in a house that had smokers. I also have 1 spot lite up on my spine. So this consumes my thought 24/7 before i fall asleep and the minute I wake up. Doesd anyone know how long it takes to get results of a lung biopsy in Ontario Canada


    Thanks


    Pip
  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited February 2019

    Thinking of you!

    Keep us posted

  • LoriBach
    LoriBach Member Posts: 130
    edited February 2019

    Do you have any symptoms? How did they find the node?

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