Chest CT

A small nodule was found in my lung from an mri for my abdomen. We've checked it about evey 6 months for almost 2 yrs now. I was stage 1.What do you think of these most recent CT results?

Stable peripheral right upper lobe fibrosis and subpleural nodule, 6 mm. No suspicious new or enlarging nodule. No consolidation. No pleural effusions. Small pericardial effusion, unchanged.

All my ocologist said is that we don't need to do anymore since the nodule hasn't grown. What about the other findings? None of the previous results mentioned fibrosis or pericardial effusion.

Edited to add: I did have A/C chemo which can cause heart problems. It seems weird to do nothing about the pericardial effusion. I do have a cardiologist I've seen in the past. Thinking maybe I should make an appt with him.

Comments

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,421

    Hi @amyc15237, When nodules are found in the lung there is a protocol called Fleischner criteria that is used to follow up. Stopping surveillance of a small nodule with no change over two years is in line with that.

    Different radiologists often comment on different things. If the fibrosis and pericardial effusion are mentioned as stable they were probably there before but not mentioned since not significant. A small amount of fibrosis is common in the radiation field. You can ask your oncologist to review the CTs or have them ask the radiologist about the previous scans if you have any concerns. All the best.

  • cookie54
    cookie54 Member Posts: 861

    @amyc15237 Yep as usual maggie is spot on with her comments. I totally agree, they were seen before but not mentioned due to not being a significant finding. Especially since Rad mentioned unchanged I don't think there is any need to worry. Congrats on stable findings!