Think of Small Lung Nodule Detection as the Start of Good Lifestyle Habits

"I never thought it would be faster than treating a cold!" Zhou Hua (a pseudonym), a Jinan citizen, was finally discharged from hospital three days after undergoing surgery to remove small lung nodules, a stone that had been weighing on his heart for days.

In recent years, the detection rate of small lung nodules has increased, and many people are nervous and anxious about this, carrying a heavy psychological burden.

Zhou Hua's surgeon, Zhang Lin, deputy director of thoracic surgery at Shandong Provincial Hospital, said that most small lung nodules are benign, and a few malignant ones can be surgically removed and have a good prognosis, so there is no need to worry too much.

After the detection of small lung nodules, the first concern of many people is: will they develop into cancer? Experts say that small lung nodules are not strictly a disease, but an imaging term that refers to single or multiple lung nodules with clear borders, less than or equal to 3 cm in diameter, and completely surrounded by air-containing lung tissue.

In general, small pulmonary nodules such as pulmonary fibrosis foci and inflammatory nodules are benign nodules, while microinfiltrating adenocarcinoma and invasive adenocarcinoma are considered malignant nodules. Clinically, the benign rate of small pulmonary nodules is around 80%.

There is no need to be overly worried about small lung nodules. According to Zhang Lin, benign nodules can be followed up regularly, leaving a CT negative of the chest every year, so that the biological characteristics of each small nodule can be grasped in time by comparison, observing whether it is developing or quiescent, and whether it has invasive behavior, so that timely measures can be taken.

Those diagnosed as malignant can be removed by minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. The surgeon will probe the lung through a small hole of 2 cm-3 cm to remove the nodule in about half an hour, and the intradermal suture will be removed without stitches.

For some cases that are judged to be malignant, it is not necessary to operate immediately. "For example, lung carcinoma in situ does not have the metastatic characteristics of general tumors, and some have not been found to change even after five or six years of follow-up, reaching a state of 'human tumor co-existence'." Zhang Lin said.

But not being overly concerned does not mean being familiar with it; rather, small lung nodules remind those detected that they need to re-examine themselves and their lives.

In Zhang Lin's opinion, much of people's excessive fear of cancer nowadays is based on their past knowledge of cancer: for a long time, when people found out they had cancer, they were basically at an advanced stage, with poor treatment and low survival rate.

In fact, through early diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis of cancer can be very optimistic, for example, the five-year survival rate of stage I lung cancer reaches 70%-80%.

Therefore, it is important to pay attention to health management and develop the habit of regular medical checkups, especially for people in the age group of 45-60 with high cancer incidence, it is better to receive low-dose spiral CT examination once a year, change bad habits such as smoking and alcoholism, and really take the detection of small lung nodules as the beginning of good life habits.

Experts say that lung cancer patients with optimistic mood have significantly better treatment effect, survival time and quality of life than pessimists. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a positive and optimistic attitude.

If there is a mentality of sulking, recurring entanglement and excessive pursuit of perfection, it should be adjusted in time, and if there is too much pressure, it should be released in time through cultural and sports activities, social communication and other means.

More importantly, we should cherish the relationship with our family and improve our relationship with them, so that a warm and harmonious family can become a "petri dish" for nourishing health.

After witnessing many patients' excessive anxiety and tension due to the detection of small lung nodules, Zhang Lin believes that small lung nodules also give doctors a wake up call: facing small lung nodules patients should be "tight inside and loose outside".

Doctors themselves, to improve technical skills, each surgery characterization precision, positioning precision, resection precision, pathological precision, master the "King Kong means" in order not to let any suspicious nodules; to patients, do not over-dramatize the seriousness, to give positive relief and encouragement, with a "Bodhisattva heart We can better help patients overcome their diseases and "heart diseases" by not overplaying the severity, giving positive reassurance and encouragement, and having a "Bodhisattva's heart".