Scared I have lung cancer

Whiff very best wishes for your blood test and well done for confronting your issues. You are right in that it's best to have the answers.

I'm surprised that bronchiectasis has been mentioned a few times as I thought it was not that common. I have asthma and bronchiectasis too.

I realise it might be bad manners to slightly hijack the thread but while others are on it, please could I warn people with bronchiectasis to be careful with shower heads, hot tubs, compost etc. I ended up very poorly with NTM (a non contagious sort of TB).

Liz chronic asthmatics can be prone to bronchiectasis, due to recurrent chest infections.
Mine was discovered, when I was being checked for Cystic Fibrosis, as a carrier of the gene.
The consultant changed my inhalers, as a result of the investigations and what a difference it has made for me.

Antonia I wish you well, chin up.

It’s understandable that you are concerned Antonia but please get your appointment booked as soon as possible in order to get a treatment plan underway for your symptoms

Antonia, please go and have the X-ray, and as soon as you can. Waiting and wondering is the worst time. It is unlikely to be lung cancer but until you know you will be stuck in a world of worry.
Hospitals are very safe at the moment with hand gel and masks being used everywhere so please don’t worry on that score.
Good luck.

I was the same a couple of years ago - turned out to be mild adult-onset asthma.

It is no good me saying try not to worry, because if you are anything like me it will be very hard not to! But I hope that the posts from others here who have been down the same road will help you to get it in proportion. Good luck with your x-ray.

I had a recent chest X-ray for the same reasons Antonia. I’d smoked in my youth, then had several lapses the last six years ago, no smoking since then. The chest x ray was clear. Other causes for the breathlesness

I don't think it is possible to talk about cough, breathlessness and lungs without being scared Antonia. I also think the word "smoker" will inevitably crop up without meaning any harm. M)nica like me may have been asked the relevant questions herself, so I don't hink she was looking to blame you.
My consultant said
Are you a smoker?
Anyone close family member ever had this?
Are you hoarse?
Show mw your fingers (to see if they were clubbed or clawlike)
Good luck, Antionia. I hope all goes well.

I am always being asked by doctors if I have ever smoked. Many years ago, one actually accused me of not telling the truth, when I said I had never smoked. However, my father and in laws were heavy smokers, which could have contributed to my conditions.
It's a normal question to ask, when you have chest problems.

Thank you for the recent comments. I am trying to be positive, but waiting for the appointment is hard. The GP has already requested an appointment, (I have seen it on my notes) so this is something I can't do for myself. I would have the x ray today if I could.
Lillie I have said to M0nica that I was probably too abrupt. I am sure they will ask about smoking.
I will have to be patient, as I think it will be a week or so before I get the x ray appointment, and then I have to wait another week for the GP to get the results, and then I can have a face to face appointment at the surgery.
Again, thank you all for your support. I think Gransnet is full of great people.

Antonia I am sorry my post will have made you more nervous, not less. That was never my intention. I tend to forget how many people are ex-smokers, but you are an ex and for some years and every year you haven't smoked reduces the chances of cancer. You are more likely to have bronchitis and all those bronchi......... problems that others have mentioned before anything very serious.

M0nica thank you. As I said previously, I have always found your posts to be carefully considered and intelligent. My reaction was just me being scared. Lockdown hasn't helped, in that there is plenty of time to just sit and worry.

Antonia Its hard not to worry. I hope you get your test soon. Waiting is so stressful. x

My husband has had a cough for 2 years and gets very breathless. He is also an almost life long asthmatic. Reviews and several changes in medication have done little to help. He stopped smoking at age 42 (71 now). He had an X-ray last year which showed nothing. He has recently had a CT scan which again, showed very little other than an inconsequential cyst and some lung stiffening. So we are none the wiser as to why he coughs so much. I should add, it’s driving me INSANE.

glammagran

My husband has had a cough for 2 years and gets very breathless. He is also an almost life long asthmatic. Reviews and several changes in medication have done little to help. He stopped smoking at age 42 (71 now). He had an X-ray last year which showed nothing. He has recently had a CT scan which again, showed very little other than an inconsequential cyst and some lung stiffening. So we are none the wiser as to why he coughs so much. I should add, it’s driving me INSANE.

Has your husband had allergy tests? I was told during an appointment with the respiratory consultant that my tree pollen allergy was worse (blood tests). Nobody had told me that I had one although I had figured it out for myself!

To be honest I suspect many of us have had to have tests and suspected the worse. Nothing so glorious to be told it is something eminently treatable, you will grin all the way home and for days after?..

Let us know ASAP.

Have have a cough for the past 15 years, which gets worse every winter, also extremely bad (causes me to lose total control) when I am tired. Also, suffer from shortness of breath with very little movement. Have had chest x-rays etc. cough always put down to a side issue with my COPD.

New Gp Practice and the nurse there started to treat me for Asthma, and my cough has virtually cleared up.

Suppose it is natural to think of the very worst diagnosis - usually, it is something that is far less worrying and often, treatable. Whatever worries you it is best to get diagnosis as early as possible for appropriate treatment,.

Don`t over think Antonia.
I had a cough for over 6 weeks,my son asked me to go to my Gp so of course i did as i didn`t want him to worry.
Long story short.......Had an x-ray and have scar damage on my lungs.
It`s not a problem.
Fingers crossed for you it will be something and nothing.

I should have said in my earlier post, that at 21 I had a persistent cough for over a year. Eventually after xrays, skin tests, blood tests etc, I was dismissed by a doctor as suffering from nerves, because I was sitting my final exams at university. .
My GP refused to accept this and sent me to different hospital, where after a number of tests, I was immediately admitted, as by this time I was 6 stone in weight and lung cancer was suspected. My newly married husband and my mother were advised I might not pull through.

I spent six weeks in ICU and was allowed home on Christmas Eve.
The diagnosis, Late onset, brittle asthma, not lung cancer. Speculation only makes things worse. That was forty five years ago and I'm still here!

Good luck with the test and results.

Hope you don’t wait too long for your appointment, do let us know how it goes.

Thinking of you tonight Antonia and wishing you well. x

Just an update for those who kindly replied. I had the results, which showed that the lungs were clear (huge relief) but showed damage relating to former smoking, which wasn't unexpected, as I smoked for many years.
Suziewoozie thank you so much for your private message. I should have answered you earlier, but I very rarely check my inbox and have just seen your message tonight.
Whiff I hope your blood test results were good. Have you had any further treatment?

Antonia thanks for update - glad all is well ?