Possible lung cancer, how often does hemoptysis occur?

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

Hi all, as you can see this is my first post here. Smile

Unfortunately, I am very concerned because of some syptoms I've been having lately, and so that's why I was just wondering how often one spits up blood if they have lung cancer (I know it's a symptom but I just don't know how often it actually occurs in people who actually [i]do[/i] have lung cancer, as opposed to myself where the doctors seem to say I don't...?).

So I guess I better go into some detail. Long story short, I've gone through most of the tests, and I don't have anything wrong with my esophagus that would cause me to spit up blood (I have pretty bad GERD so that was what I figured it was at first, and it also only seems to occur after I eat something - say within 1 hour or so). So I went to my physician and he had an x-ray and a CT scan done which showed a 4mm nodule in my left lung. They said it was nothing. Unfortunately... ever since September of last year I've been spitting up blood about once every month and a half on average. The last time I did it was a LOT of blood (say, 15 teaspoons worth) with what looked like bubbles in it.

Thing is, I never vomited up blood, nor have I ever smoked (I'm only 21). So I just want to know how often one spits up blood if one has lung cancer - I'm not asking for a diagnosis from anyone but I just want to know what others experiences have been. If this has happened to anyone and they had a different type of cancer that would help me very much to know as well.

Thank you very much.

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1293

Hi,

I'm sorry you are having some type of problem. Yes, coughing up blood streaked sputum is one of the signs of lung cancer, but it doesn't happen in every case at all. For lung cancer, it all depends on how heavy the lung involvement is and where the tumors are located. My husband began coughing up blood streaked sputum on a regular basis --every day. It never was in the amounts that you describe. It wasn't too often where it was all blood either. The doctors tell lc patients that if it is more than a teaspoon full of blood to call them immediately. That never happened.

Are you coughing all the time? What you are describing doesn't seem consistent, but the large amount of blood is alarming when it is happening. Was the nodule in your lung calcified?

You are very young, but as an FYI, never smoking is no guarantee against getting lung cancer. Up to 20% of all new diagnosis are for people who have never smoked.

I hope you continue to pursue this with your doctor and it somehow is related to your esophagus being irritated after you eat. What are the doctor's telling you?

Best of luck with a perplexing problem.
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

Thanks for taking the time to reply (and so quickly too!) Smile

Sorry I wasn't able to respond sooner; the last couple days have been fairly crazy for me...

When I read your first paragraph, it reminded me of something. Although it was only coughing up blood that alarmed me, I have coughed up "other" stuff. Unfortunately, I do have GERD and so whenever I cough up something or have chest pain I used to attribute it solely to that. I have, however, spit up phlegm with tiny brown or black specks in it; usually it's just one tiny little spot that would not be noticeable if I wasn't so cautious of this type of thing. I never really thought much of it; I guess I just figured it was something from the food I ate (i.e. spitting up a brown speck might correspond to some soda that I drank or something like that). But of course it might be something more serious as well...

I don't believe I'm coughing all the time. I think I have developed a lttle bit of a cough but it (as with my other symptoms) only seems to occur after I've eaten something, although I do feel a very faint "tickle" in my throat almost all the time now.

The doctors did not mention whether the nodule was calcified or not, which would lead me to conclude that it was not, though truthfully I am not even sure that refers to or whether or not it is a good thing. (I'm rather new to this sort of thing as you might imagine).

Wow, that is a surprising statistic... I was aware that happened in some cases, but nowhere near that many. So I didn't mean to imply that just because I had never smoked that I shouldn't have cancer, only that lung cancer wouldn't really be the first thing I would suspect myself of having because of my age, (non) smoking history, and so on. Of course I realize it could happen to me, I just wouldn't expect it to... I hope it makes sense what I mean? I'm not trying to say I'm invincible - and I don't believe that, perhaps unlike others in my age group! Razz

I've only talked with my GP, my GI dr. and now the lung doctor (sorry can't spell pulmonologist or whatever lol).

My GP just refers me to other people, and doesn't really make any diagnosis, he just relies on specialists (smart, I guess). The lung doctor - consulting with the radiologist who looked at my X-Ray and CT scan - told me the nodule wasn't really anything to be worried about. At that time (say, April of this year) I had not spit up blood for a couple months, and this along with what the nodule itself looked like, I guess, led them to conclude that there was a "deformity" of a blood vessel (or something along those lines) that had somehow ruptured, and had thus contributed to my spitting up blood on occasion.

The lung doctor also informed me that the chest pain I have on occasion might be due to stretching the muscle between the ribs (or something along those lines) - because I'm tall and thin and I guess that happens to people with my stature when they exert themselves.

My Gi doctor just told me that there should be no problem with my esophagus - the Nexium keeps my reflux under control and there were no ulcers in my stomach, nor erosions in my esophagus - that would lead to my spitting up blood.

So I'm just kind of at a loss because everyone keeps telling me I'm fine but meanwhile I keep having these symptoms (which all the literature I read and people I talk to warn me are very alarming).

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. It really helps just to have someone to talk to if nothing else (though the information you've given me has certainly helped a great deal). Smile

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1293

Hi again Ereshkigal,

I've had to read this a couple of times and mull it over. I think I'd be tearing my hair out if I were you with the lack of any definitive answers.

The lack of consistency with coughing up blood was not what my husband's experience was. It happened regularly, but it could also go the other way too I suppose. Some people with LC have absolutely no blood at all.

Regarding nodules: Calcified=safe. Non-calcified=questionable for cancer, but could be other things.

Oh, think nothing of my tossing out stats about non-smokers -- I wasn't meaning to offend, just educate. Most people (including my husband and I) had no clue that non-smokers EVER got cancer. Now, I'm a bit of a nut about the topic. Embarassed

Back to you. They are saying that it's some type of a rupture or related to something like that. Do they give you an actual "term" or "diagnosis?" You can see the codes on your paperwork and look them up on the internet, but frankly, I'd call the darn Doctor's office and tell them to have him call you with a satisfactory explanation or make an appointment to see him/her again. Tell them about the flecks or specks of brown/black matter in your mucus and the cough. Get insistent -- this is your health and they won't pursue it. I've found we have to really push and be our own advocates to work our way through the maze of the medical system these days. Make it clear that you need to understand this for your own peace of mind. It's probably a benign condition of some sort, but it's best to know and understand.

All GP's refer people to specialists if it goes beyond simple stuff, so I'd be calling the pulmonologist.

I think I'm rambling. It's getting late. Please keep us posted on what happens.

Many hugs,
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

Thanks again for the info. I do see the Pulmonologist again this Friday, so I'll have to make a list of things to ask. Smile

Number one on that list would be whether or not the nodule was calcified... and number two what exactly the medical term for what was wrong is (doctors seem to act like it's better if we don't know, either that or that we're too stupid to know, I'm not sure which...).

In any event, I've had a CT scan and Xray of my chest done. Would getting an MRI help at all? Or doesn't that sort of thing work for diagnosing lung cancer (or perhaps other problems such as pneumonia, etc.)?

I guess if the Pulmonologist sees nothing wrong I'll have to go back to my GP and ask if there are any other tests I should have done. I doubt I need another endoscopy seeing as how my last one was done only about 2 months ago. However, I've heard that cancer of the pharynx can cause hemoptysis, so maybe going to an ENT doctor would be next on the list after this...

Oh, don't feel bad. In fact I'm not a non-smoker but I've worked in a smoking environment for the last 9 months, so it's not as if I've been completely smoke free anyway...

Still, I'm not sure if statistics keep track of people who've been exposed to second hand smoke for long periods of time or not. If so perhaps those people are even classified as smokers, because I've heard second hand smoke can be just as bad as smoking...

In any event, thanks for the advice, I'm sure it will help greatly in getting to the bottom of this.

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1293

Hi Eresh,

Actually they do have stats that show a few thousand people a year get lung cancer from second-hand smoke, but for the life of me, I can't understand how they can make that statistical assessment.

Good luck on Friday. Hopefully it was just some type of rupture or bleed-out and the lung is taking it's sweet time to absorb the excess blood.

Please let us know what the Doc says.

Best wishes,
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

simplyklb

Hi Eresh,
You really need to get a brocnhoscopy with biopsy. Ask your pulmonologist if he or she will schedule one. You need to know what is going on with your lungs.

Kristi
_________________
Dad - Andy, 70, diagnosed with SCLC in May 2008
2/20/38 - 10/15/08 Fly high, Dad!
Mom - Jackie, 67, diagnosed with NSCLC in May 2008

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

Thanks for the replies guys.

Regarding second-hand smoke, my guess would be that the criteria would include one of two things (of course there are probably more but that's what I can think of right now):

1.) You work in an area where smoking is allowed (i.e. nightclubs, a casino, etc.). I say that because I read an article on Christopher Reeve's wife (I think anyway) and they suspected she got LC because she was always performing in areas like that.

2.) You have a spouse/significant other that smokes. Maybe even more than one person in your household that does (if you live with an extended family or whatever).

In any event, I saw the pulmonologist today and he did want to do a bronchoscopy. As he said if he sees any "problem areas" he'll biopsy them, and if not he'll biopsy some stuff every once in a while just to make sure. Which sounded good to me. He said, of course, he'll look for cancer but, "there's really not much of a reason to expect it." So we'll see... evidently the x-rays that were taken today did not show much of anything, which is of course also a good sign (though as I understand it lots of times lung cancer can't be detected via xrays - or even CT scans!).

Oh and it's scheduled for Tuesday morning. I can't believe I got in that quick! Oh well better sooner than later... less time to worry!

Thanks again for all the support!

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

Ok well just a quick update: did the bronchoscopy today... it was actually somewhat painful Sad

Of course what would I expect, I mean after all they were basically ramming a small tube up my nose, lol. But anyway the doctor said everything looked fine, although he did biopsy some stuff just to see. Since he didn't see anything bleeding there, he strongly suspects the blood is coming from my esophagus, but the doctor that did the endoscopy said there shouldn't be any blood coming from there and that I'm basically fine...

So anyway I get the biopsy results Thursday morning...

koikkeril · Super Moderator Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 334

Hello Eresh,
I just want to pop in and say how pleased I am to hear you went for a bronchoscopy and so far looks good... Hoping results on Thursday says the same, I have been reading your post and also been thinking about you, touch wood and Gods blessings that all goes well for you... Koik

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the comments! And I just wanted to say that I called the doctor's office and he informed me that "everything was normal". Although evidently there's some cultures (or something like that, it was 9 in the morning and I was still sleepy, lol) that they will keep for 6 weeks, and if anything shows up there then they will inform me. Other than that, though, I'm great; my lungs are fine so the blood couldn't be coming from there...

Thanks again for all the support guys. It's really helped. Smile

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1293

Eresh,

Whew! Good to hear you had the scope, sorry it hurt, but it's better to know what is happening. Sounds like things are alright in the lung department and that must be a huge relief for you. I'm sure you're still a little perplexed about the blood and I hope they do get some answers to that.

Congrats on the good results.

Take care and hugs,
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

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