I am a 40 year old male who has been in great health all of my life. Recently, I went to see my doctor because of a slight dry cough that would not go away. A chest X-Ray was done an a large mass was found in my right chest. They immediately ordered a CT scan which showed a large anterior mediastinal mass in my chest.
The CT report states that the mass is not invasive to the lung, chest wall, rib, and has no pleural effusion. The report also stated the the lymph nodes appeared to be normal size as well as the adrenal glands. By bloodwork was normal.
After making an appointment with a recommended surgeon, I began reading. The possibilities of the mass were thymoma, lymphoma, thyroid tumer, or Teratoma. I went to one surgeon who said that he expected to find Hodgkin's Lymphoma and wanted to surgically biopsy the mass. There were a few things that I was not confortable with regarding that surgeon so I made an appointment with another who I liked much better. He stated that he also expected to find Hodgkin's Lymphoma and sent me for a CT assisted needle biopsy instead of the surgical option.
The waiting for the results was driving me crazy. Knowing that the hospital was going to fax the pathology results to my surgeon and that it may sit on the fax machine for a while, I decided to go straight to the hospital to get the pathology.
The initial report was complete but the final report is still pending. I already have an appointment tomorrow with an oncologist in the area. I'm sure she will help decipher the preliminary report and, hopefully, the final report will be complete by the appointment time.
I have no idea what type of lymphma I have except the report states "atypical lymphoid infiltrate consistant with lymphoma". It also states that the stains were strongly positive for CD45 and CD20 and CD3 shows scattered positivity. It says the features of the sample are "most consistant with a B-cell lymphoproliferative process".
I know we are not doctors here but did not know if these preliminary results sound familiar to anyone.
Also, when the final report does come in and the cancer is staged, what is the best way to decide who treats you? I have heard talk about surgical oncologists in this forum but I do not believe my oncologist is one. I was also told that these masses are rarely removed and are treated with radiation and chemo. Is that true?
Sorry for the long post but I needed to get it off of my chest.