Hi,
On the intervals:
The interval of performing scans to check for changes is based on two things.
The first is the actual rate of size increase. A lot of people are afraid because they feel that some intervals are too long. It is true that cancer grows continually, however the rapid rate of growth occurs before the time that it is even detectable by any imaging too. Put another way, it would be easier to increase or double in size if you started small. Once the cancers are detected - the growth rate is a lot slower. Even the most aggressive cancers are not going to increase in size significantly within a month or two. Hence a usual practice is to do the scans around the 3 month interval.
The other issue for interval assessment is to reduce risks associated with radiation from the diagnostic procedures. Radiation can also cause cancer - and so we wouldn't want to create the problems we are trying to solve.
On Calcification:
Calcification means there are deposits of calcium in the nodule. In general, it is associated with benign nodules more than malignant. A review in the journal Radiographics in 2000 pegs the following statistics: Cancerous nodules with calcification about 6% of cases in CT series. Benign nodules without calcification 38-63% (for post-infectious benign nodules) and up to 50% of hamartomas ( a benign tumor). So, the presence of calcification makes the odds of a benign nodule very likely. It does not however, automatically mean, that the odds of a malignant nodule are high in the absence of calcification.
thank you so much for getting back to me. i did talk to my doc and she is sending me to a specialist. she said that she did run blood work for anemia and for inflammation. she said usually people with cancer have anemia or the inflammation blood work comes back with high result. yes i will continue to drive myself insane. i dont think it is scar tissue though she said the calcified ones are usually scar tissue and this is non-calcified. cancer does run on my moms side of the family. good luck with your specialist and keep me posted! i will continue to drive myself insane! :)
I recently have gone through the same thing. I went in June & had a CT & they found a 4.4 mm nodule on my left lung. They told me to re-do a scan in 6 months. Well, it grew to 6mm. I am scared to death & now have an appt. on the 25th with a pulmonary specialist. That being said, I think that the "ill" feeling you have is due to the valve, and not the nodule. When a nodule is that small, it doesn't give symptoms yet, as far as I have ever heard. In fact, 5m is considered pretty small, and that is a great time to catch it, (when it is small enough that they can get it dealt with. It could just be scar tissue & not cancer, that is why they want you to wait 3 months & have a comparison done to see if it grew. The other alternative is to have a biopsy done, which is pretty invasive and may not be neccessary. So my advice is, if you are the type of person who will drive yourself insane with worry, and you can stand the huge amount of tests & stuff, then you could push it. But otherwise, I'd just forget about it & then go in 3 months like they said & have another scan done.