Solitary Pulmonary Nodule

[Michelleb]

Last week I was having terrible pain in my chest and couldn't breathe normally, fever and night sweats, so I went to the doc to get checked out and he sent me in for a CT scan to check for a blood clot in my lung (blood test showed the level to be 516 and should be around 450??) NO blood clot was found but he told me I had multilple pulmonary nodules. The largest one being 1.8cm and I also had swollen lymph nodes in my chest. The doc prescribed me an antibiotic (levaquin) for a suspected infection. Then I was scheduled for a lower CT and haven't spoke to the doc yet (appt scheduled for Monday) but the nurse said everything seemed to look fine. They also had me do a mammogram and that also turned out fine. Since I started feeling bad a couple weeks ago I have quit smoking (this has absolutly woken me up, when you hear the C word it makes you think) I 31 years old and smoked for about 13 years. I have a small family history of cancer - So my main questions are 1) How concerned should I be? 2) What steps are next? (quitting smoking is one) 3) Should I go straight to an Oncologist? I'm not a wait and see kinda person. I want to know what I"m up against and I want to take care of it now not later.

[Davy9]

You are staying on top of your on-going diagnosis which is about the best you can do for now. Let your doctor clearly understand your insistence to get any news as soon as possible. It does sound as though you have an infectious process but it may not be all that your dealing with.

Please do quit tobacco regardless of the outcome of this event. There is truly nothing good about it and our government leaders should be ashamed for not finding ways to eliminate its usage.

[Michelleb]

Davy,

thank you for your input. i have a question though...are nodules something that become larger when you have an infection and if so, after the infection goes away will they go back down? thanks again for your response - I know I can ask all these questions when i go back to the doctor but i am being a little impatient :)

[Davy9]

Nodules can present in a number of different situations and their genesis, treatment and cure will vary by their specific cause and on an individual basis. Your case will likely be different than another person with exactly the same process because of differences in presentation and relative severity.

At this juncture your focus is correctly laid upon diagnosis and treatment. If they determine that it is infectious ask them to try and identify the specific organism and exactly what antibiotics it is susceptible to. That is the often spoke of "culture and sensitivity" need. Then be aggressive and compliant in getting the infection eradicated. That may involve IV antibiotics and or multiple antibiotics. Getting a sample of the organism can be as easy as a well collected sputum sample or as involved as a bronchoscopy (scope down into the lungs) or other procedures.