I am terrified

Jim had the PET scan done and sadly a few nodes in his mediastinum did show lite up. But, there was nothing in his lungs. So, the plan is to do a micro thoracotomy next Tuesday and biopsy the nodes to see what they are all about. Since we have moved from where Jim had most all of his care and where we were familiar with the doctors etc due to my work prior to retirement, it was very scary to think about who to use. We are very fortunate that the oncology group he used back in our old hometown has an office here where we live now. We are very happy with the oncologist as well as the onco/uro we are with. The oncologist referred Jim to a cardio thoracic surgeon. We met with him Monday and are very confident with his skills, education etc and feel MUCH better going into this next thing. Also, on the PET something showed up in Jim's cecum. Always something. That isn't a big concern to most all the doctors but it will be investigated via colonoscopy later on. So, we are off and running but feeling better with the new doctor in the picture. We do hope that it turns out to be a big nothing but we need to be sure! Thanks for your support as always!

Thanks for your suggestion that it has to do with a higher resolution on the current CT, Old Engineer. I doubt that is the case but perhaps it is. We can hope I know.

On looking at the report once again, I must say I did lose it a bit when I read it the first time, it shows 6 lymph nodes that were not there on previous scan in the mediastinum. Jim had his PET Scan on Thursday afternoon and I guess we will know the result on Tuesday when he has a previously planned apt with his onco. I am in a quandary now with the lymph nodes in the mediastinum and why they are there. Who knows but we will find out soon. Hoping it's nothing to get excited about. I do know that BC is a wicked cancer that is insidious at best. Thanks for your support all.

Carla - needless to say, very best wishes to you and your husband. As others have commented, seeing nodules in a lung is not unusual; having them appear suddenly requires investigation as your husband is doing, but may I ask, is it possible that the resolution of previous scans was not as high as in this latest scan (i.e., the nodules were there, just not previously seen)? A few years ago, I went from a standard chest Xray to a 32 slice CT scan (for other reasons) and the latter showed 5mm lung lesions ("nodules") that the former did not. Also, if the latest scan is very high resolution, sometimes the radiologist can tell whether the edges of the nodules are irregular which is more suggestive of a malignancy.

Sincerely hope it all turns out well for you and your husband.

Thank you both. I remember when Jim was first diagnosed I was also terrified and cried until I thought I had run out of fluids. But, I got through that and we will get through this one way or another. What helped me so much was coming here to this forum and Mike. God Love our friend Mike. We could do private messaging then and he took me under his wing. He told me that it would be okay and to take each day one at a time. He told me to breath, just breath. Funny how when we get bad news that we stop breathing. That happened the other day when Jim told me his report was all good. Like Mike, he had to remind me to breath. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath. Not sure why we do that. Anyway, I appreciate your support and always have. Carla

Carla
I haven't been on this site lately, but I felt a need to jump on a few minutes ago.
I am so sorry to hear of this development and I hope it turns out to be nothing serious and your success story continues on.
I can only hope that this is NOT related to the bc.

My prayers are with you Both and I will think of you constantly in the next couple of weeks.

George