Lung Nodule vs Lung Cancer????

I am so sorry. I know this was not something you bargained for so soon after the COPD diagnosis. I don't have experience with the nodules. I did lose my dad to lung cancer, but he had a different kind. Her prognosis depends on what those nodules are and it's painful waiting. Support her with good nutrition and an emotional outlet.

You can try to find an online support group at http://www.mdjunction.com/.

Not to panic yet. Lung Nodules are fairly common. They can be dust that was trapped, something like the onset of Histoplasmosis that was capsulized in calcium to stop the spread. The lungs are a important to a body that they have a very strong defense. If something gets in there the body throws a shell of calcium on it to protect the lungs. I have 2 nodules in my lungs. Been there since I was 20. I was told they were just calcium deposits and wont hurt me.

I'm really sorry you're going through this with your mother.

Listen, the very worst thing you can possibly do right now is think the worst.
You will hear horror stories, you will find things on the internet that will scare you to death. Those things aren't productive.

You need to support your mom right now in positive ways. Her immediate battle is getting over her pneumonia and not smoking. Being stressed out of her mind will make it even harder for her to quit. If she convinces herself she's going to be dead in six months, then why the hell put herself through the torture of not smoking?

People who have never smoked can have scarring due to chronic asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Nodules do not equal cancer. I understand you being so very concerned, but you're looking into treatments and survival rates for cancer because "what if?". Well, what IF it ISN'T cancer and you've spent all that energy on something for nothing?

You need to being throwing positive thoughts and energy out into the universe for your mom right now.

She's got pneumonia. She doesn't feel well. Get her some frozen juice bars, make her a pot of homemade soup. I like "smoking" licorice. I get whips in different flavors, bite the tips off, and puff away on them. It might sound silly, but it's worth a try.

I, myself, am recovering from complications of pneumonia. It's been rough. I lost 14 pounds and I did not have 14 pounds to lose. Your mom needs to be sleeping, eating whatever is comforting to her and she can handle, and doing nothing but letting her body heal itself. That's it. That's all. There is no room for worry in that equation. You need to help her out with that.

She doesn't need to worry about the house, the laundry, cooking. She doesn't need to worry about you or your sisters or the what if's. She needs to be comfy, maybe drift off watching a funny movie. She needs sleep. She needs positive energy around her.

I'll keep her and your family in my thoughts.

Best wishes.

I had a nodule on my lung and went for scans every three months. It remained there for quite a while. I knew with the last scan it it was still there I would need a biopsy. The doc came out with a smile on his face, it was just about gone. Another scan showed it was completely gone. We feel it was a pocket of infection from a previous central line infection. Try to catch your breath, it might just. E infection especially with what is going on.

Take a breath and relax. I know that's pretty impossible right now, facing this kind of diagnosis for your mother. In 2008, my little brother, then 16, was diagnosed with bone cancer, primary tumor was in his knee. The prognosis was good unless it had spread to his lungs. If it had spread, then his chance of survival was more like 20%, not good. So after PET scans and such, it was found that he had a nodule on his lungs. My family was positively devastated.

He had to go through ten weeks of intensive chemotherapy before surgery and before they could truly assess the nodules in his lungs. After the grueling ten weeks was over, they did another PET scan, and the nodule was still there, completely unchanged, whereas the primary knee tumor had completely died.

The oncologist explained to us that the lung 'nodule' was not cancer at all, because if it had been cancer, it would have responded in kind to the chemo (like the primary tumor). My brother receives regular scans now that he is in remission (cancer free over three years now yay!), and the lung nodule remains unchanged.

The doctors told us that people can get scar tissue on their lungs from respiratory illnesses like asthma, pneumonia, etc. People can inhale foreign particles that embed themselves into the lining of the lungs. Smokers can develop scar tissue, etc., so it's not uncommon for there to be something on the lungs that shouldn't necessarily be there.

All of this to say, you don't have any answers yet, so don't hang your hat on the worst case scenario. After all, it could be absolutely nothing, and then you would have wasted all of this energy on such tragic thinking.

I don't know if you are a christian, but the power of prayer and positive thinking works miracles. I will never forget the woman who prayed with me after we learned of my brother's lung nodule. She told me, "Don't worry, it was just a mistake on the scan. There's no nodule." She absolutely believed that, and prayed on that. It was inspiring, even if I couldn't truly believe it myself at the time.

My deepest thoughts & prayers to you and your family!

A long nodule means that their is something spotted on the lungs. It could very well be nothing to worry about.

My mother has a few on her lungs due to second hand exposure from her father . He smoked four packs a day for 55 years. She gets them checked on periodically. They aren't cancerous.

Your mother's best bet is to stop smoking NOW. The good news is that she is getting the right treatment and the doctors will follow up with her. Whatever her diagnosis is, if they have detected it early on, her chances are very good.

Hope for the best!

My cousin died of lung disease at the age of 38. Five years prior to her death, she was diagnosed with "nodules" on her lungs. The doctors weren't sure what caused them. My cousin thought they were fungus from the soil that she was gardening in every day. In Jan of 2011, she came down with pneumonia and went to the ER. They admitted her and did testing. They found she had H1n1. She became gravely ill and was admitted to the ICU and put on a ventilator. She never came off. After several months, she was transferred to a larger hospital's ICU where she stayed for five more months until she died. In the last month of her life, the doctors determined she actually had Pulmonary Fibrosis. We think these nodules were actually the start of PF. If she had known, she could have had a transplant years before she got so sick.

So, if this turns out to not be lung cancer, it could be PF. It does not respond well to treatment. The only cure is a transplant.

Prayers for your mom, and for you too!

I'm so sorry about your Mom's health issues.
I'm hesitant to say anything because I've known a few co-workers (heavy smokers, good friends, very sweet and fun people) and family members who were fine (just passed annual physicals) when they came down with pneumonia, discovered the cancer and passed away within 3 months.
It was that fast.
And it was agonizing to lose them.
I guess the only thing to hold onto is that every individual, their genetics, their situation, their recuperative powers, their health - is very different - so what happens to some people might not happen to others.
Sometimes pneumonia is just pneumonia, and people can recover from it.
I hope she gets well soon.

Can they do a PET scan? This type of scan can give more information. My father died of lung cancer and I know that after his CT scan they did a PET scan which is what determined the diagnosis. It's true that the nodules may be in response to her fighting off the pneumonia or they may have been there for many years. Some people just have nodules. However, lung cancer is a very deadly form of cancer so if it is cancerous, the sooner they can get that information the better. I would push the doctor a bit about pushing up the next CT scan or getting a PET scan for further info. Also, does she have any previous CT scans or x-rays for comparison sake?

I am so sorry for all that you and your mother and family are going through. The not knowing what is going on is absolutely agonizing. If it did turn out to be cancer, the treatment is totally dependent on the stage, location, general health of patient, etc. so it's really hard to know what would be involved until you knew more.

You are in my thoughts and I am hoping for a quick recovery from the pneumonia followed by many years of good health for your mom!