Smoker. CT Scan Showed Smooth Nodule In Lung, Pleural Plaques And Fibrosis. What Are The Risk?

Posted on Tue, 26 Feb 2013

Question: I recently went for a chest xray, havent had one since I was in my 20s I am 49 and unfornately a smoker. They found a suspicious area on the xray so they did a ct scan with contrast the same day the ct results say I have a 1cm smooth nodule with defined edges in my right lung base in my middle lobe and a possible second nodule which is round but is dense and they saw some pleural plaque and the see fibrosis which is consistant with copd, I have no symtoms this was found by accident, what are the odds it is cancer and what should I do the scan says have another one in 3 months but the doctor wants to send me to a pulmonary specialist, I am scared to death but seems like the biopsy can make your lung collapse so scared to have that if it might be benign. what do you think and recommend I do or dont do?

Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (5 hours later)

Hello,

From your description you are obviously having a chest affection which from your presentation could be as a result of a neoplasia. Tuberculosis or COPD too could be another alternative cause of the lesions found on your CT.
Being a smoker makes the above three to be highly suspected and the only way to determine the actual cause is by running blood test, sputum acid-fast-bacilli test + culture and definitive a biopsy.
Biopsy must be aggressive, as a fine needle biopsy could be very useful and simple to do. If you wish to get the cause of your chest problems, you will to overcome your anxiety by either medications or on your own.
At this point seeing a pulmonary specialist is the best thing to do.

Hope this helps
Dr Nsah

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar