Always crying

[Peenie]

Hi my name is Gina i just turned 55 July 21. About 3 years ago, 3 noduals all 3cm were found on my lungs, I just had a new scan and Aug 2nd was told I now have a 6cm mass, they are going to scan again in 3 months. I am convinced I have lung cancer ( I smoked for 40 years ) I have not stopped crying since then. I can't continue like this. I won't be happy until a biopsy is done and I find out for sure. How can I stop feeling this way?

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Peenie,

I am so sorry you have been so tearful which is perfectly understandable reaction to receiving your scan results.Not all nodules are cancerous.The repeat scan will be to monitor the mass and to to see if there are any changes over time.I think you should speak to your GP and express your concerns and tell him how you are feeling just now.If you feel you need to talk to someone about anything don't hesitate to call the nurse led Helpline 800 358 7200.

Kind regards,

All the team at the Roy Castle Helpline

[Glitterpink_18]

All I can say is God bless you. I do understand your fear and anxiety. My cancer was found by accident as I prepared for a different surgery. It was early stage adenocarcinoma which my oldest sister had last summer. She has smoked over 60 years and I had never smoked. So please try not to blame yourself for smoking. I had an upper lobectomy 3 weeks ago and it had not spread to the lymph nodes. I hope if you have it, it can be removed as well. The tears are so normal. My dr prescribed something for my anxiety which was a great help. Do keep us updated.

[janeg4]

Hi Peenie

I am sorry to hear how distressed you are and I understand how awful waiting is , I would approach my GP , Specialist nurse or Respiratory physician and tell them that you can’t cope with waiting three months to find out if you have lung cancer . I would go all out to get a diagnosis sooner rather than later and I think you deserve to know , be your own advocate push yourself forward I think it’s unreasonable to have you wait for an explanation of a 6cm mass.

Please remember it’s not cancer until a biopsy says it is , so why should you be waiting for months in such a state ?. I can only say if I were in your position I wouldn’t sit back living in a constant state of fear and anxiety , I would insist on biopsy now , and I wouldn’t feel bad about it either .

Keep us informed and sending you my best wishes.

Jane

[JanetteR57]

Sorry to learn of your experience, Peenie and sympathise with your anxiety. It sounds as if you're being observed by a hospital or clinic. Are you based in the UK? UK Hospitals have targets to follow regarding suspected cancer so I'm guessing you're not in the UK or if you are that they are monitoring you under CTS lung nodule guidelines.

Not all lung nodules are cancerous or harmful hence the 'watchful waiting' approach.

It's good that you recognise that smoking may have damaged your health and I note you say 'were a smoker' so sounds as if you've quit. Well done, if this is the case as it's never too late to give up.

Not all smokers develop lung cancer and plenty of us who have never smoked do, so there's no direct correlation/guarantee that you would have it, However recognising your lungs may be damaged is a good opportunity to maybe look after them a little better?

Crying can be exhausting and make you breathless so that won't help - perhaps you could access a counselling service? Wherever you're receiving the updates from, do they have a specialist nurse or could you speak to the secretary of the consultant seeing you?

Unfortunately as all the cancer treatments are potentially harmful, stringent investigations have to be carried out (and with that comes lots of waiting for results) so unnecessary treatments are not given (otherwise patients would be issuing lawsuits all over the place). As more has been discovered about lung cancer, it has become apparent there is much more variance within lung tumours than previously thought and there are different treatments to target the very specific characteristics of both tumour and patients.

This can mean further delays whilst tests are undertaken but it's better for all concerned if the treatment is specific to the patient rather than something that may not help at all.

I do hope you can get some support soon, even if only to understand why you are being kept waiting - we can become more anxious by not knowing what is going on - so I'll keep fingers crossed for you and wish you luck. best wishes.