A small dark spot showed up deep within someone's lung, what could that mean?

Small dark spots or shadows can be anything.

They thought my grandfathers was from pneumonia and it ended up being cancer.

Spot could be a tumor, cancer or pleural lung disease, or even a foreign body.

I look at chest X-rays and medical records regarding lungs everyday.

Okay. Thanks.

Many lung spots are scar tissue from respiratory infections. It’s more common than most people think.

@dontmindme I’m thinking that’s what it is – scar tissue.

Why was the xray taken? Is he sick? Just a cough? Any symptoms?

He has pneumonia. Apparently, the spot is not from pneumonia, though.

@Mama_Cakes The pneumonia can make it more difficult to see the problem area and determine what it is. In my fpa’s case, he wasn’t told it was cancer for another year after multiple lung problems and one hospital stay. They said it was ‘hiding’ behind the fluid in his lungs.

@Mama_Cakes Are they going to do a CT or MRI (I don’t know which one would be right to do). Don’t panic for sure. Can be anything.

@JLeslie I’m not sure. I’ll find out more when I talk to my sister this evening.

He just came back from Hawaii. He had been there for two weeks when he started to feel ill. He is now being treated for pneumonia. I hope that it isn’t anything serious.

This happened to an acquaintance of mine too.
He was told that it was cancer, but because it was so small , that they
are not too worried about it and are keeping an eye on it, should it grow?

My Dad smoked for ⅔ of his life.

Perhaps his doctor advised him NOT TOO SMOKE anymore?

If he stopped smoking even now it will make a huge difference to his health in a good way.

@Inspired_2write I don’t think anyone over the age of 15 has to be told it is a bad idea to smoke in bold letters on the internet. The OP is worried enough.

@Inspired_2write My gpa stopped smoking when he was 50, but he still got lung cancer. Actually he had throat cancer in his 20’s, as well.

Not smoking helped him lead a normal active life until about age 83. That includes sexual activity as well.

You would be surprised how many people that are told not to smoke anymore , (that had serious Issues that pointed to possible cancer) that do not stop?

Cigarettes are not made up the same as before 1977, when it was discovered that chemicals were added to them after that time period.
So some seniors had informed me.

Hence people have an even more difficult time to change this habbit.
One older lady in particular was warned to stop smoking after developing
a serious cough etc,she did not listen to advice and ended up on a
respirator for the rest of her life which was two more years, then passed on.

Doesn’t surprise me at all that some people continue to smoke. They know it is bad for them. The OP said her dad smoked ⅔’s of his life, so it sounds like he already quit.

@Inspired_2write He quit smoking at 60. He’s 75 now. Read carefully next time.

He quit for good then. Was smoking on and off prior to that.

@Inspired_2write My friend tells me that cigars are actuallly better for you because of the finishing process. Of course you don’t inhale cigars.

Basically we all make our own choices, even knowing smoking will kill you, we do it. Same with drugs. Knowing drinking and driving will kill us or someone else, we do it. Like all the obese nurses in the health care industry, apparently we have a death wish.

A) Consult your doctor.
B) Obtain any previous chest x-rays for comparison
C) Have a qualified radiologist examine all the available prior x-rays with the current ones
D) Listen to and follow the medical advice you obtain

@Dr_Lawrence My Dad is doing all of that. He is in good hands.

I hope it all works out ok for your father and your family, good luck, I will say a small prayer for you tonight.

Hope too that he recovers to a healthy state.

@Mama_Cakes, I’m sorry for the digression, but I am puzzling over this.

> My Dad smoked for ⅔ of his life.

> He quit smoking at 60. He’s 75 now.

One-third of 75 is 25. Two-thirds of 75 is 50. If he smoked for 50 years and quit at 60, that means he was ten when he started. Is that right?

@Jeruba I think she is saying that the 60yrs her father smoked is the ⅔’s of her father’s life. If that is the case then one must assume he was 15 when he started?

Allthough back in those days it was not all that uncommon to start smoking at such a young age, they also didn’t know the all of the health affects, my father started smoking at the age of 9 and quit at the age of 42. 4 years ago at the age of 76 he died of esophageal cancer.

@Jeruba My mind was a little muddled, yesterday. He started when he was in his teens and stopped at 60. Sorry.

It’s not important. I just couldn’t make it add up, and you seemed emphatic about it.

I’m hoping for the most positive outcome. News of this kind is very disturbing and shakes up your mind for a while.

Your math doesn’t work either, @nofurbelowsbatgirl. 60 is two-thirds of 90. If that’s the two-thirds, then he started as a baby and is 15 years short of the 100% mark. But if he started at 15, then from 15 to 60 would be three-quarters. And if he smoked two-thirds of his life until 60, that would be 40 years (starting at 20), but the 15 years he’s lived since then mean that the two-thirds fraction is no longer correct.

@Jeruba ok. But I was not giving an answer based on the same mathematical system you were using. I was merely taking the age the grandfather quit smoking which is 60 and taking that away from 75 at which point I am left with 15. It makes perfect sense to me.

Forget about the fractions :/ age is not in fractions, it seems kinda pointless to me, sorry.