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Avatar universal

lesions and soft tissue

I can't get into a doctor for over a month. I had a CT chest scan and the report says, there are several less than 5 mm enhancing soft tissue density within the right upper lobe with an additional lesion in the posterior paraspinal aspect of the left upper lobe, with no suspicious pleural effusion and with mild right hilar/subarinal adenopathy.  There is mild cardiomegaly with no pericardial effusion.  I am going crazy wondering what all this means, can you put this in plain english for me?  Yes, I am a smoker, and I am trying to stop, I have my Chantix but affraid to take it,   is there anyone out there that has taken it?  Did you get sick??
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Avatar universal
Hi,
If stopping smoking is a problem you should take the help and support of family and friends. Ask them to discourage you from smoking when they around.
If you still are unable to quit, it would be advisable to find out about one of the smoking cessation clinics in your area and enrol in one of them.
With the lung lesions you mention, and even without them smoking is not at all good for your health. It also effects other body sytems and can even cause lung cancer in the long run. This is not to scare you, but to motivate you to quit - immediately.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your come back.  A little relief but a real concern.  I have no risk factors that I am aware of but I do live in Arizona so maybe it could be valley fever. Thanks for your help.
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Avatar universal
Hi.
The CT scan shows multiple small nodules in the lung. There are also some lymph nodes which are likely involved or are reacting against the nodules. The usual description of lung cancer is a solitary mass, which may be less than 3 cm. That there are multiple nodules makes cancer less likely, and makes benign causes like granulomas (from prior infection), cysts, areas of  collapsed lung or dead lung (infracted lung) more likely. The description of the lymph nodes would be generally similar whether the lesions were benign or malignant.
As you are a smoker, its best the plates are reviewed and if you have no risk factors for prior infection, you would be advised to seek a biopsy. If you do not have severe chronic lung disease, you may even be a candidate for operation.
Please see a doctor soon (I understand that with the holidays around this is easier said than done).
Regarding the Chantix, (I am not a  smoker so this is the best i can share with you) here are some of the side effects and the rates with which they compare with placebo: nausea (3% vs. 0.5% for placebo), headache (0.6% vs. 0.9% for placebo), insomnia (1.2% vs. 1.1% for placebo), and abnormal dreams (0.3% vs. 0.2% for placebo.  
My best to you.
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