cancer?

i am 45 year old female. i have had post nasal drip and a productive cough for about 2 years.  xrays are alway clear.  recently i had an xray because when i breath in deeply my right lung hurts. not like a sharp pain, but like walking into a freezer and breathing deeply pain, or running to lung pain. the xray was clear.  however i am still worried about it being cancer. my father was just recently diagnosed with stage 4.  he had an xray every 3 month because of his emphysema , never showed a tumor.  now they do a ct and there is a tumor!  why the xray didnt pick it up?  thats why i am worried. my xray is clear but what if it does not pick up a tumor like my dad??? i smoked 18 years ago for 13 years so i am worried.  could this be cancer?? no other symptoms.
maryann

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
You have a pleurisy-type symptoms, and are also worried because of what happened to your father.
There is no reason to suspect lung cancer based on your current symptoms. Screening for lung cancer is a controversial topic, but you may discuss with your doctor the benefit of performing a CT scan, if only to give you peace of mind!
All the best, and God Bless!