How to make your lung nodules smaller or even disappear? Listen to what thoracic surgeons say

As people's health awareness improves, more and more people have developed the good habit of regular physical examinations.

Many people get their physical examination reports, and there is a diagnosis of lung nodules in the chest CT column. When they search on their mobile phones, many people find the conclusion that "lung nodules are early lung cancer". As a result, they are very scared and try every possible way to make their lung nodules smaller or even remove them. Many people have tried various methods but the results are often not good. So, can lung nodules be removed? What methods can be used to remove them? Let's talk about it today.

What is a lung nodule? In fact, lung nodules are an imaging diagnosis. Generally, it refers to the discovery of round or quasi-circular nodules with a diameter of less than or equal to 3CM in the lung parenchyma during chest CT. In other words, you go for an examination, generally referring to chest CT, and find that there is something in your lung parenchyma with a diameter of less than or equal to 3CM. Why is it 3CM? Because anything larger than 3CM is generally called a lung tumor, not a lung nodule.

Many people are confused about what their lung nodules are. In fact, most people's lung nodules are benign, mostly scar foci formed after inflammatory stimulation or trauma. A few people's nodules may be benign tumors, and a very small number of people's lung nodules are malignant, or early lung cancer.

If your lung nodules are benign tumors or early lung cancer, then no matter what medicine you use, it will not disappear unless you intervene with surgical means, such as surgical resection, then it will disappear.

Most people's lung nodules are benign, mostly scars left by inflammatory stimulation. There are two types of nodules:

● If your nodular scar is older

For example, if you had inflammation when you were young, you would have a nodule. The nodule will always exist and may never disappear in your lifetime. It is like cutting a wound on your skin with a knife, which will leave a scar. This lung nodule means that my lungs were once inflamed, but it got better later, so it will be there every time you do a CT scan. For this type of person, the nodule may always exist no matter what method you use.

●If you have recently or are currently experiencing inflammation

For these people, lung nodules may become smaller or even disappear after the inflammation disappears. This is why for some patients, when the nodules are diagnosed, the doctor tells them: "Go for anti-inflammatory treatment for about 10-14 days, and then go for a follow-up check." When these people go for a follow-up check, they find that their nodules have indeed become smaller or even disappeared after the inflammation disappears.

So, whether your lung nodules will shrink or disappear depends mainly on what kind of nodules you have. Of course, as a doctor, I still have to remind you: "In fact, such a small lung nodule, whether it is benign or malignant, will not have a big impact on you, and the most important thing is to do regular follow-up." What we are really worried about is that some patients with early lung cancer have delayed their treatment because they ignore the existence of nodules. When you find that the nodules are getting bigger and firmer, or there are rapid changes during regular follow-up, timely surgical intervention to prevent further deterioration of the disease is the most important thing.

So when you are diagnosed with lung nodules, don’t worry too much, because most of them are benign. The most important thing is to follow up according to the size of your nodules and the doctor’s requirements.

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