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Lung nodule - how dangerous is it?

Hello,
Last week, my husband had a surgery (not related to his lungs), however after CT scan,the radiologist told him that indeterminate pulmonary nodule 1.2 x 0.7 cm is found in his lungs.He is a smoker for 7 years but had stopped like 2 month ago. Also he had 2-3 years gap and wasn't smoking during those 7 years. He had no symptoms at all. But after last week surgery, he got sick. No fever, just a throat ache,cough.He was referred to see the oncology dr next week but I can't just wait. I am so scared, I researched so many websites looking for answer is it cancer or no? Please help!
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Avatar universal
Risk of cancer in a former smoker is lower than that of a current smoker, but unfortunately still higher than that of a nonsmoker. A pulmonary nodule measuring greater than 8 mm is indeterminate but suspicious for lung cancer, especially in a patient with history of smoking. The next step is biopsy/tissue sampling for further characterization +/- PET/CT for staging. Hopefully, the disease is confined to the lungs and has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Good luck!
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15695260 tn?1549593113
Hello and welcome to the forum.  I'm sure this is a very scary time for you and your husband.  It is worth nothing that most lung nodules are benign or noncancerous.  They need to rule this out and the size is the most concerning factor.  The size of his is still relatively small. There are no other factors involved and the surrounding tissue is healthy?  That would be a good sign. Nodules can be the result of a previous infection.  There is a very likely possibility that this is not cancer.  Please do follow up with us and let us know the next step and findings.
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