thanks in advance for any advice...yes, all of you can have my guns and stuff, but seeing as im living in cali (right now), you probably dont want any of it
anyhow,
i have had a chronic cough (not very productive, if anything comes up..its whitish-clear) for the past 4 months. never smoked anything and alchohol only on new years in small amounts; otherwise healthy. 42yrs old.
had a chest ct scan done and radiologist sees a few small nodules (3mm-7mm) and diffuse ground glass opacity.
pulmonologist did a lung function test and says expiration volume is low. they used albuterol during the test and it didnt make a significant difference.
so, he says he would recommend biopsy.
he gave me two options...
1- VATS
2- transbronchial
he said its up to me. on one hand im worried the transbronchial will not give enough information, on the other im worried about post op complications involved with VATS

Any chance of doing the transbronchial first then move on to the VATS if it's inconclusive?
ETA- Hope it's nothing serious btw. My ex BIL is a heavy equipment welder for Ameren and was a boilermaker for 15 years before that. He has lung images every year and they found some spots and noted decreased lung capacity. Turns out it was a fungal infection called histoplasmosis that can be caused by pigeon and bat shit... he works in a power plant right on the Mississippi River. Anyway it was treatable and he's doing alright now, hope it works out for you!

Tested for TB?

From CA?  Could be fungal.  Any occupational exposures - asbestos, dusts, radon?

thank you for the responses.
occupational hazards: dental shit blown in my face from drilling (amalgam, tooth dust). i wear a mask, but they are only droplet proof, not vapor proof.
my first gut reaction was fungal, but without biopsy they wont confirm. the problem with fungus is there are many different types and each has a different treatment.

No dickatude, and no doc here, but do you smoke?

never smoked a day in my life (anything)
**eta...nice username..seems appropriate

Well, I mean, damn, Newports taste good.

OTTAH, I'm out of reasons for your problems as a mechanic.

We can just wait for docs now.