Brown Spots on Lungs

My sep dad just got a letter back saying that he has several brown spots on his lungs.  We are fearing the worst which is Cancer.  Is there other things that this could be.  Also if you have any sites for information I would appreciate it.  He used to smoke but quit about 5 years ago.
Thanks,
Kim

[National Jewish]

I am unfamiliar with the term brown spots but suspect that they are a group of shadows, usually round, separated from each other by normal lung.  These could be from infections, inflammation, or tumors.  The first step would be to obtain previous x-rays your step dad might have had, even years ago, to see if any of these spots were present then.  If they were, that is good news.  If not, he will need more x-rays and probably other testing to determine the nature of what, at this time, can only be described as shadows.

It is great that he quit smoking 5 years ago!