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UPDATE: So I think I may have lung cancer (1 Viewer)

enfuego

enfuego

Footballguy
I take this seriously as I understand the seriousness of the subject and personally knowing people who have been affected by lung cancer. In fact, my Dad, was a smoker for 25 years. He quit smoking then was diagnosed with lung cancer 20 years later. He went through a round of chemo before having surgery a couple weeks ago.

The rub here is I have never smoked cigarettes. I only did pot a few times in my teens and recently again late last year.

It all started in November. Initially I didn't think I had anything serious. In fact, I thought maybe it was a cold bug or some weird winter allergies. I would wheeze terribly and had difficulty breathing. After a few weeks of not getting better, I went to the doctor who did an breathing treatment and put me on 2 different inhalers. It helped calm the cough initially, then it returned. I went back after about 3 weeks, and the doc did another breathing treatment an prescribed a Z-pak and more inhalers. Again, calming the cough, and returning. The doc felt I might need a stronger antibiotic, prescribing Doxycycline twice a day and to continuing the inhalers. Here I am coming into this week, still coughing, though it has calmed a bit, but I am nowhere near normal. I can't do any normal physical activity without getting winded and wheezing. Back to the doc, who did another breathing treatment and sent me for an x-ray. After the x-ray I asked the tech to see it and she said she wasn't supposed to let me, but flashed the couple views on the screen. I saw a dark spot on my left lung...She said the radiologist would interpret it and call my doctor.

Not wanting to wait the whole weekend, I place a call today. My doctor told me that the radiologist is "hasn't finished reviewing" the x-ray and they would call me when they had more definitive news.

Perhaps it's me just being a bit paranoid, but I would think that if it were all clear, the doc would have told me that. Hopefully I am just being paranoid...

 
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Air shows as black. Cancer in the lung usually shows as a white spot or spots. Try not to let yourself get worked up and just wait and see what they say. Good luck!

 
Obviously I don't know what's going on but can say for sure that lung x-rays always look weird if you're not a doctor/radiologist. I remember seeing mine on the thing there and thinking it was curtains. My best x-ray story is when I was having abdominal pains about 5-6 years ago. Doc took an abdominal x-ray and the tech put in on the display and I'm just sitting the looking at it waiting for the doc to come over. Two huge black masses. For sure curtains. Doc took one look and asked if I was constipated. Anyway, a little milk of magnesia and a change in diet and no more pains.

Could be anything at this point. Don't get worked up. Hoping for the best. :thumbup:

 
Oh and also, the Dr probably didn't tell you anything because he couldn't. A lot of them have no clue how to interpret an x-ray.

 
I had similar symptoms some years ago...turned into pneumonia and then pluerisy. Not fun. Hopefully you don't have that. Its not life threatening but it sucks.

 
Also add to my history, that I had a lump near one testicle about a year ago. Couldn't get in with my regular so went to urgent care, who called it a spermatocele.

 
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It's nice to know about and advocate for your health, but there's a line where you'll freak yourself out, and a useless worry that sinks in when you just can't do anything about it. Don't freak yourself out all weekend over something you can't control right now. They'll read the results in due time.

One unsolicited suggestion if that doesn't work: Bottle the feeling and think about it next time you think you need one last iteration of something unhealthy that's just giving you a negligible return on the pleasure you're deriving from it.

 
I remember looking at a chest x-ray with my doctor. There was a huge white mass. I said: What's that, Doc? He said: It's your heart.

 
'Beckster said:
Oh and also, the Dr probably didn't tell you anything because he couldn't. A lot of them have no clue how to interpret an x-ray.
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I do not mean to piss anyone off by a majority of doctors can read an X-ray, CT scan or an MRI. They just do not have the time nor the necessary technological enhancements devices needed to do so.Just my 2 cents worth from my personal experience with many doctors.
 
Just to set your mind at ease, you don't diagnose cancer from an X-ray. Being a doc myself, your symptoms sound more like pneumonia although the time frame is a bit long now. I would suggest you push for a CT chest if you don't see any improvement with the new antibiotics to get a more accurate diagnoses. There's a variety of other causes for your symptoms that a simple chest X-ray won't diagnose.

 
'Flying Spaghetti Monster said:
'Beckster said:
Oh and also, the Dr probably didn't tell you anything because he couldn't. A lot of them have no clue how to interpret an x-ray.
Click to expand...
I do not mean to piss anyone off by a majority of doctors can read an X-ray, CT scan or an MRI. They just do not have the time nor the necessary technological enhancements devices needed to do so.
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Not necessarily. Most can identify something obviously wrong, but it's the radiologist who is specially trained in imaging and officially reads the study. It just sounds like the OP's primary care doc is just waiting on that reading.
 
'Beerguzzler said:
Just to set your mind at ease, you don't diagnose cancer from an X-ray. Being a doc myself, your symptoms sound more like pneumonia although the time frame is a bit long now. I would suggest you push for a CT chest if you don't see any improvement with the new antibiotics to get a more accurate diagnoses. There's a variety of other causes for your symptoms that a simple chest X-ray won't diagnose.
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As an x-ray/MRI tech myself, I concur with Dr. Beerguzzler! :thumbup:
 
Yeah, don't sweat it until you actually hear it from the doctor. Life is too short to worry about stuff that might not even be true.

Good luck.

 
There was a Breaking Bad episode about this. Walt sees his scan on the screen and thinks his tumor has gotten bigger, but later finds out it was actually in remission. Don't resort to "cooking", but, if you do, don't leave the keys in the ignition.

 
Did they do an EKG of your heart? I'm really surprised that they haven't done a CT by now, especially if you've had this problem for several weeks. Are you running a fever at all?

 
A family friend died of lung cancer at 42. He and his parents never smoked. Ate extremely healthy diet and didn't have a job that put him at risk.

Hope this isn't the case for you. Good luck.

 
Damn, I hadn't seen this thread before and was assuming as I scrolled rapidly to the bottom that the OP would've already found out.

GL bud. I'm guessing it's nothing serious.

 
Hope it's nothing. I got diagnosed with pleurisy on Tuesday - thought I was having a heart attack. Couldn't take a deep breath or move without a really bad pain. Couple of days of anti inflammatories and I'm good as new.

 
'Corporation said:
Hope it's nothing. I got diagnosed with pleurisy on Tuesday - thought I was having a heart attack. Couldn't take a deep breath or move without a really bad pain. Couple of days of anti inflammatories and I'm good as new.
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You lucked out. I had the same thing and ended up with a chest tube for almost 3 months.
 
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FWIW - My FIL had lung cancer (wasn't related to smoking). Very anecdotal, but I thought the problem with lung cancer is that it is usually not very symptimatic and as a result it isn't diagnosed until later stages. From the symptoms mentioned, sounds like it may be something else. Good luck!

 
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'Wingnut said:
'Corporation said:
Hope it's nothing. I got diagnosed with pleurisy on Tuesday - thought I was having a heart attack. Couldn't take a deep breath or move without a really bad pain. Couple of days of anti inflammatories and I'm good as new.
Click to expand...
You lucked out. I had the same thing and ended up with a chest tube for almost 3 months.
Click to expand...
I had it in high school and they made me go to school even though I felt like I was going to die because it's "walking pneumonia". 15 years later I had a chest x-ray and they said there was a mass in my lungs. Then they looked at x-rays from 2 years before (where the Doctor didn't say he saw anything) and they were exactly the same. So they said it's not cancer. Could be scarring from the pleurisy, they don't really know.
 
My life has been a whirlwind since my original post. The original x-ray was read a walking pneumonia and my symptoms did indeed improve...for a week or so. In fact, I joined a gym (something that I had been wanting to do for a while) and was working out on the elliptical 1-2 a day for a while. But the cough never really when away and again got progressively worse.

In the beginning of April it was so bad, I waited 8 hours in the ER and got another workup including xray. They said it was walking pneumonia and sent me on my way with a Z-pak. Less than two weeks later, it got so bad, I couldn't catch my breath at times. I made an appointment with a pulmonary specialist (3 days out) but decided I couldn't wait that long and went back to the ER. Took me 12 hours to get in this time, but they admitted me this time.

I was in respiratory isolation in ER for 3 days until private bed came available. I bet they drew blood 20 times. I had an IV in each arm. The doctors attempted a bedside thoracentesis, but missed, in an attempt to alleviate the fluid on the lung. The next day, I went to IR and they inserted a chest tube and drained 2 liters of fluid from the chest. Then, hooked the tube up and drained another 2 liters over the next 3 days. From the fluid, they sampled and finally found out what was making me sick.

It took 2 more days for them to deliver the news that indeed I have Stage IV lung cancer. The pneumonia was just a symptom of the cancer. Because the cancer is in the fluid, it is inoperable and there is no cure. However, I did get some good news. The did a complete CT and it has not metastasized to any other parts of my body, organs, etc...

I underwent my first chemo last week and will do everything I can to fight to have a quality life as long as possible or until a miracle cure is found.

While I understand that the overall survival rate for non-small lung cancer (type I have) is not great, my hope is that in writing this, maybe someone else will read it and insist on aggressive investigation of treatment if you have lingering symptoms or just don't feel right.

 
'enfuego said:
My life has been a whirlwind since my original post. The original x-ray was read a walking pneumonia and my symptoms did indeed improve...for a week or so. In fact, I joined a gym (something that I had been wanting to do for a while) and was working out on the elliptical 1-2 a day for a while. But the cough never really when away and again got progressively worse. In the beginning of April it was so bad, I waited 8 hours in the ER and got another workup including xray. They said it was walking pneumonia and sent me on my way with a Z-pak. Less than two weeks later, it got so bad, I couldn't catch my breath at times. I made an appointment with a pulmonary specialist (3 days out) but decided I couldn't wait that long and went back to the ER. Took me 12 hours to get in this time, but they admitted me this time. I was in respiratory isolation in ER for 3 days until private bed came available. I bet they drew blood 20 times. I had an IV in each arm. The doctors attempted a bedside thoracentesis, but missed, in an attempt to alleviate the fluid on the lung. The next day, I went to IR and they inserted a chest tube and drained 2 liters of fluid from the chest. Then, hooked the tube up and drained another 2 liters over the next 3 days. From the fluid, they sampled and finally found out what was making me sick.It took 2 more days for them to deliver the news that indeed I have Stage IV lung cancer. The pneumonia was just a symptom of the cancer. Because the cancer is in the fluid, it is inoperable and there is no cure. However, I did get some good news. The did a complete CT and it has not metastasized to any other parts of my body, organs, etc...I underwent my first chemo last week and will do everything I can to fight to have a quality life as long as possible or until a miracle cure is found.While I understand that the overall survival rate for non-small lung cancer (type I have) is not great, my hope is that in writing this, maybe someone else will read it and insist on aggressive investigation of treatment if you have lingering symptoms or just don't feel right.
Click to expand...
So sorry to hear. Keep thinking positive, it can help a lot. Thoughts and prayers.
 
'enfuego said:
While I understand that the overall survival rate for non-small lung cancer (type I have) is not great, my hope is that in writing this, maybe someone else will read it and insist on aggressive investigation of treatment if you have lingering symptoms or just don't feel right.
Click to expand...
You have a great attitude, which will serve you very well during this period. I hope we the FBG community can be of some assistance or solace or distraction or outlet or whatever you need. I can give you a wing in the GMTAN...feel free to join us and share the love.Keeping you in my thoughts,GM
 
'enfuego said:
My life has been a whirlwind since my original post. The original x-ray was read a walking pneumonia and my symptoms did indeed improve...for a week or so. In fact, I joined a gym (something that I had been wanting to do for a while) and was working out on the elliptical 1-2 a day for a while. But the cough never really when away and again got progressively worse. In the beginning of April it was so bad, I waited 8 hours in the ER and got another workup including xray. They said it was walking pneumonia and sent me on my way with a Z-pak. Less than two weeks later, it got so bad, I couldn't catch my breath at times. I made an appointment with a pulmonary specialist (3 days out) but decided I couldn't wait that long and went back to the ER. Took me 12 hours to get in this time, but they admitted me this time. I was in respiratory isolation in ER for 3 days until private bed came available. I bet they drew blood 20 times. I had an IV in each arm. The doctors attempted a bedside thoracentesis, but missed, in an attempt to alleviate the fluid on the lung. The next day, I went to IR and they inserted a chest tube and drained 2 liters of fluid from the chest. Then, hooked the tube up and drained another 2 liters over the next 3 days. From the fluid, they sampled and finally found out what was making me sick.It took 2 more days for them to deliver the news that indeed I have Stage IV lung cancer. The pneumonia was just a symptom of the cancer. Because the cancer is in the fluid, it is inoperable and there is no cure. However, I did get some good news. The did a complete CT and it has not metastasized to any other parts of my body, organs, etc...I underwent my first chemo last week and will do everything I can to fight to have a quality life as long as possible or until a miracle cure is found.While I understand that the overall survival rate for non-small lung cancer (type I have) is not great, my hope is that in writing this, maybe someone else will read it and insist on aggressive investigation of treatment if you have lingering symptoms or just don't feel right.
Click to expand...
Will keep you in my prayers. My dad was diagnosed in March with the same exact type/stage lung cancer. Stay positive and continue enjoy doing whatever in life makes you happy.
 
T&P enfuego. I'm a tobacco user and I have my first child coming in September. This kind of thing scares the #### out of me. I offer you all my thoughts and prayers and I hope you will pull through. I'm not sure we've interacted a lot on this board but PM me if you need to bounce some thoughts off of or if you just need another perspective.

 
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