new to this site and worried

I am so sorry you are having to go through this recent scare. Your doctor is right, majority of lung nodules are nothing. Almost anyone at any stage of health could get a chest CT and have lung nodules show up for many different benign reasons. This past summer myself I had lung nodules show up in a CT scan, had to just wait a few months for my next scan to find out if they grew.. basically if they were to grow larger then they'd be conisdered cancerous. At the next scan they were so small they were barely noticeable, then the scan after that they were gone. It's a terrible feeling not knowing what's going on. I hope you'll find they are nothing to worry about. If that doesn't end up being the case, just know that treatment options, especially for melanoma, have dramatically enhanced and there's many on here living with and beating this stupid disease. 

For now, do what you can to keep your mind occupied, whatever hobby or activity you enjoy, emerse yourself for a bit so you don't end up in a negative spiral, which is so easy to do when there's no answers to the millions of questions and possibilities that pop up in our minds during a time like this.

All the best,

I am so sorry you are having to go through this recent scare. Your doctor is right, majority of lung nodules are nothing. Almost anyone at any stage of health could get a chest CT and have lung nodules show up for many different benign reasons. This past summer myself I had lung nodules show up in a CT scan, had to just wait a few months for my next scan to find out if they grew.. basically if they were to grow larger then they'd be conisdered cancerous. At the next scan they were so small they were barely noticeable, then the scan after that they were gone. It's a terrible feeling not knowing what's going on. I hope you'll find they are nothing to worry about. If that doesn't end up being the case, just know that treatment options, especially for melanoma, have dramatically enhanced and there's many on here living with and beating this stupid disease. 

For now, do what you can to keep your mind occupied, whatever hobby or activity you enjoy, emerse yourself for a bit so you don't end up in a negative spiral, which is so easy to do when there's no answers to the millions of questions and possibilities that pop up in our minds during a time like this.

All the best,

I am so sorry you are having to go through this recent scare. Your doctor is right, majority of lung nodules are nothing. Almost anyone at any stage of health could get a chest CT and have lung nodules show up for many different benign reasons. This past summer myself I had lung nodules show up in a CT scan, had to just wait a few months for my next scan to find out if they grew.. basically if they were to grow larger then they'd be conisdered cancerous. At the next scan they were so small they were barely noticeable, then the scan after that they were gone. It's a terrible feeling not knowing what's going on. I hope you'll find they are nothing to worry about. If that doesn't end up being the case, just know that treatment options, especially for melanoma, have dramatically enhanced and there's many on here living with and beating this stupid disease. 

For now, do what you can to keep your mind occupied, whatever hobby or activity you enjoy, emerse yourself for a bit so you don't end up in a negative spiral, which is so easy to do when there's no answers to the millions of questions and possibilities that pop up in our minds during a time like this.

All the best,

I can understand your worry. It sounds as though your doctors are on top of things in narrowing down or eliminating possible items of concern. And good for you for being so on top of things with regular derm check ups and quitting smoking! : )  As you and Jenn both mentioned, it is possible that these lung nodules will be benign and of no concern. CT's can show some very normal things that we often have no idea are lurking in our bodies. I've not experienced lung nodules, but have had a very consistent 1.2 cm cyst on the tail of my pancreas since getting my first CT over 3 years ago. Cysts on my ovaries come and go, depending upon what point in my cycle the CT happens to fall. My OB/GYN has twice wanted me to follow up with ultrasound. I put her off both times, knowing that by my next CT, they would more than likely be gone. They were. 

However.. IF… IF the worst case scenario ends up being true, and you are diagnosed with either metastatic melanoma, or NSCLC (lung cancer), the recent developments in treatment options are showing more success than ever before, and are much more easily tolerated. At this point, the nodules are sub cm, so they are still considered very small, which would make them even more suseptible to treatment, or easier to completely remove. 

I know it is nearly impossible for any of us to be able to say anything at this point that can eliminate your worries. That kind of mental unrest is going to happen until you have some answers. Not only does it make you perfectly normal, it has driven you to seek assistance should you need it. You're already ahead of the game! That's good! : ) Again… IF… IF you get bad news after Wednesday's scans, it will mean even further unnerving testing, before they can confirm a diagnosis. On the "up" side of a bad scan and further testing… IF all goes to hell in a handbasket, and you find your life suddenly flipped over… believe it or not, you will begin to feel better with a plan of attack in place. In the meantime, if you are able to distract yourself for even a few hours each day… think about anything else other than the "what ifs", it will allow your stress level to drop and your immune system to keep on top of things.

Best wishes for your scan on Wednesday! 

I can understand your worry. It sounds as though your doctors are on top of things in narrowing down or eliminating possible items of concern. And good for you for being so on top of things with regular derm check ups and quitting smoking! : )  As you and Jenn both mentioned, it is possible that these lung nodules will be benign and of no concern. CT's can show some very normal things that we often have no idea are lurking in our bodies. I've not experienced lung nodules, but have had a very consistent 1.2 cm cyst on the tail of my pancreas since getting my first CT over 3 years ago. Cysts on my ovaries come and go, depending upon what point in my cycle the CT happens to fall. My OB/GYN has twice wanted me to follow up with ultrasound. I put her off both times, knowing that by my next CT, they would more than likely be gone. They were. 

However.. IF… IF the worst case scenario ends up being true, and you are diagnosed with either metastatic melanoma, or NSCLC (lung cancer), the recent developments in treatment options are showing more success than ever before, and are much more easily tolerated. At this point, the nodules are sub cm, so they are still considered very small, which would make them even more suseptible to treatment, or easier to completely remove. 

I know it is nearly impossible for any of us to be able to say anything at this point that can eliminate your worries. That kind of mental unrest is going to happen until you have some answers. Not only does it make you perfectly normal, it has driven you to seek assistance should you need it. You're already ahead of the game! That's good! : ) Again… IF… IF you get bad news after Wednesday's scans, it will mean even further unnerving testing, before they can confirm a diagnosis. On the "up" side of a bad scan and further testing… IF all goes to hell in a handbasket, and you find your life suddenly flipped over… believe it or not, you will begin to feel better with a plan of attack in place. In the meantime, if you are able to distract yourself for even a few hours each day… think about anything else other than the "what ifs", it will allow your stress level to drop and your immune system to keep on top of things.

Best wishes for your scan on Wednesday! 

I can understand your worry. It sounds as though your doctors are on top of things in narrowing down or eliminating possible items of concern. And good for you for being so on top of things with regular derm check ups and quitting smoking! : )  As you and Jenn both mentioned, it is possible that these lung nodules will be benign and of no concern. CT's can show some very normal things that we often have no idea are lurking in our bodies. I've not experienced lung nodules, but have had a very consistent 1.2 cm cyst on the tail of my pancreas since getting my first CT over 3 years ago. Cysts on my ovaries come and go, depending upon what point in my cycle the CT happens to fall. My OB/GYN has twice wanted me to follow up with ultrasound. I put her off both times, knowing that by my next CT, they would more than likely be gone. They were. 

However.. IF… IF the worst case scenario ends up being true, and you are diagnosed with either metastatic melanoma, or NSCLC (lung cancer), the recent developments in treatment options are showing more success than ever before, and are much more easily tolerated. At this point, the nodules are sub cm, so they are still considered very small, which would make them even more suseptible to treatment, or easier to completely remove. 

I know it is nearly impossible for any of us to be able to say anything at this point that can eliminate your worries. That kind of mental unrest is going to happen until you have some answers. Not only does it make you perfectly normal, it has driven you to seek assistance should you need it. You're already ahead of the game! That's good! : ) Again… IF… IF you get bad news after Wednesday's scans, it will mean even further unnerving testing, before they can confirm a diagnosis. On the "up" side of a bad scan and further testing… IF all goes to hell in a handbasket, and you find your life suddenly flipped over… believe it or not, you will begin to feel better with a plan of attack in place. In the meantime, if you are able to distract yourself for even a few hours each day… think about anything else other than the "what ifs", it will allow your stress level to drop and your immune system to keep on top of things.

Best wishes for your scan on Wednesday!