Does a lump in my lung mean cancer?

[hwillman]

Last Tuesday evening, I developed swollen tonsils, that led into a cold by Thursday. Because I still had a cough that was keeping me up at night, my husband thought I should go see the doctor to see if I had bronchitis. So, I went yesterday and the doctor took an x-ray and found a lump the size of my pinkie fingernail in one of my lungs. So, being an ex-smoker (from 14-24 yrs old - 1/2 pack a day) and still occasional smoker, I am very afraid that it could be lung cancer. I also grew up in a home where both of my parents smoked.  I asked the doctor and he said 'it's hard to say'. So the xrays are going to the radiologist and the doctor is referring me to a specialist. I am a 27 year old female in good health and I'm scared that I could have cancer.

[National Jewish]

Anything is possible.  However the likelihood of lung cancer in a 27-year-old person is very small.

[Barbarella]

A lump can also be a "nodule" which is NOT cancer.  My husband smoked 4 packs a day for 40 yrs, and three yrs ago an Xray was "suspicious", he then had a CT scan which showed a "nodule", but could not tell if it was cancer.  He then saw a Lung Specialist and was given a "bronchoscope" (don't know if I spelled it right) a biopsy was done of this "nodule" and it was BENIGN.  He had to have follow up CT scans six months apart for the next 3 yrs.  The nodule did not change or go away.  He was told that he is in the clear.  This "cancer scare" caused him to finally quit smoking 3 yrs ago.

A nodule is a "pre-cancerous" growth which might have gone into cancer had my husband continued smoking the Lung Specialist said.

[Barbarella]

One more thing about the "second hand smoke".  I know there is a lot of hype out there about this issue, and I am in no way saying that its totally harmless, but I lived with my husband throughout the 40 yrs of him smoking 4 packs a day, and my lungs are clear, as recent as last month when I had to have a CT scan done on my abdomen for another issue, and my lungs were also scanned.  My mother never smoked or drank nor grew up in a household where anybody smoked, lived a healthy life and she died of cancer at the age of 46.  As you can see I am not jumping on the band wagon about how bad second hand smoke is.  It can effect some people, and others are not effected by it.  Our grown daughter has a permanent respiratory problem, and needs to use an inhaler, NOT because of second hand smoke she grew up with, but yrs later after she was already married, 10 yrs later to be exact they found out that behind the walls in her bathromm was dangerous mold which was hiding behind and nobody saw when they bought the house.  They had a new shower installed and the plumber told them to have this mold checked out.  She was already having respitarory and breathing problems a few months before they found out about this mold.  The Pulmonasry Specialist confirned that it was caused by this mold.

[THERESA66]

MY 69 YEAR OLD MOTHER HAD A CHEST X-RAY AFTER A REALLY BAD BOUT OF BRONCHITIS, THE DOCTER CALLED A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER TELLING US THEY HAD FOUND A NODULE IN THE LOWER LEFT BASE OF HER LUNG. THEY TOLD US TO WAIT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND THEN REPEAT THE CHEST X-RAY. THEY FOUND THE NODULE IN AUGUST AND BY THE END OF OCTOBER WHEN THEY REPEATED THE X-RAY THE NODULE WAS GONE. MY MOM WAS ALSO EXPOSED TO SECOND HAD SMOKE, MY DAD WHO PASTED AWAY FROM LIVER DISEASE SMOKED 2 PACKS OF CIGARETTES A DAY FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, THAT IS WHY WE WERE SO CONCERNED WHEN WE WERE TOLD SHE HAD A NODULE. THANKFULLY THE NODULE WAS CAUSED BY THE BRONCHITIS INFECTION, AND AFTER 2 ROUNDS OF ANTIBIOTICS THE INFECTION AND NODULE DISAPPEARED. HOPEFULLY EVERYONE HAS THE SAME HAPPY ENDING AS MY  MOM. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE AND REMEMBER NOT ALL NODULES ARE CANCER!!! GOD BLESS

[Awsum87]

A related discussion, Nodule in Lungs was started.

[dyneau]

A related discussion, Lump in the lungs was started.