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Old Sun Oct 17, 2010, 10:19 PM
Zoe's Life Zoe's Life is offline
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Logan, Ohio
Posts: 127
Lynn,

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I have a nodule on my right lung at the bottom. It has been there for almost a year now. They have done repeated CT scans to see if it changes any. So far it hasn't much. I have to decide if I want another CT scan or a PET scan next month. I have researched this immensely, because I was concerned also.

Here are some things I learned. First, it could very likely be from the pnemonia. It could be scar tissue (which doesn't go away, but neither is it worrisome). It could be some other type of leftover from the pnemonia which may go away. There are many types of nodules. I have learned that anything under 9mm is likely not worrisome. Larger, and it is possibly (read POSSIBLY, not probably) a problem unless it is over 2cm (then concern rises dramatically). Mine started at 8mm, and the last CT said 9-10mm and is considered borderline.

It also makes a difference whether it is calcified or not. Calcified is likely to not be a problem (although no guarentees). Sometimes they will start noncalcified and calcify over time (something that often happens after pnemonia or other lung infection). They can be partially calcified, and the pattern of this calcification vs. noncalcification is important in understanding how concerning it is. Mine is noncalcified which is a concern.

Questions I have learned need to be asked are: Is it a solitary nodule, or are there several? If more than one, what is the pattern? Is it calcified at all? If yes, what is the pattern for that? Fully calcified is good. Some partial calcification patterns are good, some not so good as indicaters of malignancy. How big is the nodule(s)? Where are they located? Are there other symptoms such as shortness of breath (can be anemia too), or coughing up stuff (particularly blood).

They will likely do a series of CT or PET scans over the course of 2 years (maybe not so long if it disappears). If they see something very concerning they will consider a biopsy and/or other tests. A lung biopsy is a very big deal. No one is talking about that for me, I am hoping next month will be the same, particularly since the location of mine would make biopsy very difficult.

See if you can get some of the above questions answered. If you are interested I can share some of the websites I learned my info from. I am not in the medical field, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I am still learning all of this. Hopefully by next November (my 2 year mark), this will all be behind me.

I don't have fibrosis in my marrow, so I don't know how that might affect things. It may be a process that takes time to figure out what is going on. Don't let it eat at you. There are so many benign causes of lung nodules, in fact, many more are benign than mallignant. My guess is it is related to the pnemonia.

Zoe
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Diagnosed MDS-RA 5q- at age 47 (November 2006). Aranesp 2/07, good response.
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