# Unidentified mass in my lung. Sick. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 24, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884 "2004-02-24T14:00:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/21 "2004-02-25T14:31:18Z")
Dear Bosda: I hope it’s a peanut. Love and good thoughts, Gingy ---
**Author:** ![Stover9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Stover9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stover9)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/22 "2004-02-25T15:04:19Z")
Sending my positive thoughts your way. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/23 "2004-02-25T17:14:36Z")
Well, I went to the doc’s today. CAT scan showed an “unidentifiable mass, 3.9 cm long”. Right lung, near the sternum. No clue as to what it is. I have an appointment on March 15th with a Pulmonologist. My wonderful HMO restricts who I can go to, so no appointments earlier than that. None of this has shown up on earlier x-rays over the last few year or so, though. I feel like I’ve been abandoned. I feel like I’m all alone, & none of my doctors are even interested in my health. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/24 "2004-02-25T17:21:30Z")
Good luck Bos, I hope it ends up being nothing more than a Cheeto you inhaled and forgot. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/25 "2004-02-25T17:21:41Z")
{{{{{ **Bosda** }}}}} Prayers and all kinds of good vibes headed your way. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/26 "2004-02-25T17:24:31Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > I feel like I’ve been abandoned. I feel like I’m all alone… Untrue! You have the support, well-wishes, and prayers of an untold number of Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![AvariceAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/958977/32.png) [@AvariceAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AvariceAngel)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/27 "2004-02-25T18:26:00Z")
Good wishes and hugs to you, there’s always hope and you have a LOT of people pulling for you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/28 "2004-02-25T18:41:33Z")
Bosda - wishing you health and strength. I hope you can gain more control over your health decisions so you can feel more involved in your care. Please keep us posted. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/29 "2004-02-25T19:30:29Z")
**Bosda** baby, you are in my thoughts and in my prayers. A thought: does this maybe this have something to do with licking too many hulls? I’m just sayin’. 😃 Love, Gazelle ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/30 "2004-02-25T19:46:06Z")
Perhaps you could call the pulmonologist’s (I know I didn’t spell that right) office and beg and plead for an earlier appointment? Maybe try to sweettalk the receptionist? Good Luck **Bosda**! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/31 "2004-02-25T20:12:37Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > \ > I feel like I’ve been abandoned. I feel like I’m all alone, & none of my doctors are even interested in my health. Last summer I had majorly invasive surgery on my stomach that nearly killed me. Sadly, rather making me better, it made my condition severely worse. For quite a while I was bounced from specialist to specialist with no help and pretty much I felt like none of my doctors really cared. I even had a few say “Well, what do you expect us to do for you?” I was beginning to dispair, but I kept looking. Finally I found a Doctor who cared enough to listen to every thing I had to say. He tried a few drugs, but we were unsuccessful. Undaunted, he referred me to a Doctor who specializes in an experimental procedure. After evaluation, the new Dr thinks he can help me. I have an appointment on the 23rd of March to have this new procedure done and am quite hopeful that I will return to, if not completely normal, at least drastically improved. The point of my long-winded story is: Never give up. There ARE good doctors out there. Sometimes you just gotta look hard. As I said above, sending warm thoughts your way. ---
**Author:** ![Washte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Washte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washte)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/32 "2004-02-26T12:04:24Z")
**Bosda** , I’m so sorry you are going through this. I truly hope things work out for the best. Please take care of yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/33 "2004-02-26T16:03:53Z")
Update– Re-scheduled my appointment for March 1st. My muscles in my neck & shoulders hurt like hell. Not stress, this is different. ---
**Author:** ![JackaRoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@JackaRoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackaRoe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/34 "2004-02-26T17:57:35Z")
Bosda, That is great to hear. I was dumfounded that your doctor was going to let you wait 3 weeks to figure out what the lump was in your lung. I know this will be one hell of a long weekend for you. Hang in there. I will keep you in my prayers. ---
**Author:** ![Stover9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Stover9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stover9)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/35 "2004-02-26T19:55:55Z")
That’s a helluva lot better than March 15th…also good that it was not appearing on recent prior x-rays…I know it will be a tough weekend, but hang in there! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/36 "2004-02-26T22:37:12Z")
March 1 appointment canceled due to overbooking. Re-Re-scheduled for March 2 with another doctor. I’m gonna try to go to work tomorrow, for at least part of the day. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/37 "2004-02-26T23:30:41Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > March 1 appointment canceled due to overbooking. > > Re-Re-scheduled for March 2 with another doctor. > > I’m gonna try to go to work tomorrow, for at least part of the day. Hey Bosda, my prayers are with you. Mrs. Trupa is a cancer Doc. (radiation kind, not the chemo kind). Here’s some free advice and info based on dinner table conversation: -you do well to push them along, time gained is valuable. Sounds like you know how to do this well already. -try to get staging tests all scheduled in parallel, not one after the other, and scheduled at the same time as you doc will schedule the biopsy. I mean have them book the appointments now, don’t wait for potential positive results to book the tests -you would think that all Docs will prescribe the same treatment, but they actually vary greatly on how aggressive / resigned they are. If you’re not happy with what you are told, go see another one, and so on… -if it is malignant but local and operable, then chances for full remission are excellent, much better than people imagine. As cliche as this may seem, please do try to take it one step at a time. Don’t let your imagination scare you more. An please let us know how it turn out. We’re all pulllin’ for ya… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/38 "2004-02-27T00:50:36Z")
Thank you for the advice. But there’s no real reason to believe this is a cancer, or even a tumor. Not yet. I hope. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/39 "2004-02-27T03:57:36Z")
Please get better soon, **Bosda** … We need you feeling your best and posting on the SDMB!! {{{hugs}}} ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884/40 "2004-02-27T05:02:59Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > But there’s no real reason to believe this is a cancer, or even a tumor. I’m no doctor, but I’ve done a LOT of reading in medical stuff (depositions of expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases, where signs and symptoms are interpreted in minute detail). Based on what I’ve learned from that, I’d say the odds are VERY good this isn’t a malignancy. Cancers have what’s called a doubling time (how long it takes them to double in size), and a mass as large as you describe (3.9 cm) should have shown up, in a smaller but easily found size, in your previous X rays, if it were indeed a tumor. Which, of course, doesn’t answer the question: What the heck IS it??? But I’ve got fingers crossed (except when typing) that it will be easily slain by a silver bullet in your doctor’s armamentarium. Sending good vibes your way! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unidentified-mass-in-my-lung-sick/230884.md?page=3)