Does Tumour Cause Backache, Breathlessness And Atelectasis In The Lungs?
Not the most common cause, may be due to infection
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
No this does not mean that you have cancer. Atelectasis refers to collapse of an area of the lung.
There are many different causes, the most common are-
(1) Plugs of airways by tenacious sputum.
(2) Foreign body/object in the lungs- this means an object is accidentally inhaled eg nuts, seeds, bone fragments from meat etc.
(3) A tumour
A tumour is one of the causes but it is not the most common at all and there are other causes not mentioned here eg fungal chest infection
It is possible, with your history of cough/cold requiring antibiotics and the fact that you do NOT smoke, that the infection extended to the chest and a mucus plug resulted in the collapse.
Your doctor may want to do a repeat chest X-ray or CT after your symptoms resolve.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Michelle Gibson James, General & Family Physician