My annual wellness visit has raised new health questions

I usually come away from my yearly wellness appointment feeling secure in my future, even though I have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). That’s not the case this year; in fact, some of the results worried me.

First, I learned that my B12 levels are too high and my iron level is normal. Yet I’m still anemic, which is one of the more common comorbidities with COPD. I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia when I was a senior in high school, and iron-deficiency anemia came along shortly before I was diagnosed with COPD.

High B12 and normal iron shouldn’t lead to anemia. So how could this seemingly contradictory information be true? I began searching for answers and found that people can have unexplained anemia. As I read further, I learned that a bone marrow biopsy, which involves extracting a small portion of the hip bone, is one way to determine the anemia’s cause.

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Thinking of that biopsy brought back memories of my acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which had prompted a hematologist to wonder if I needed a biopsy to determine if I had a bone marrow disease. In that case, the anemia question resolved itself in less than a month, and I didn’t need the procedure. My hope is that my current issue will resolve itself in a similar vein.

The ARDS episode came after I’d spent 14 days in the hospital with the disease. The current situation comes after I had pneumonia and was very weak, though not hospitalized. I’m scheduled to have fasting blood tests done at the end of this month; I hope those results are normal.

A spot on the lung

But the second, more troubling result from my wellness check is that they found a new spot on my left lung. I know that most of these spots are nothing to worry about, but worry I do because having COPD makes me more prone to lung cancer.

I’m now waiting for a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to determine the nature of the spot and record its metabolic activity. The PET scan helps detect if spots are cancer, as those cells metabolize faster than normal cells.

Though the information I read and the knowledge of my experience tell me I’ll be fine, I’m finding it hard not to worry. Yet even with the worst-case scenario, I’ve acted promptly and therefore have a better chance of positive treatment outcomes.

It’s important to get your wellness visit completed yearly so that you can nip it in the bud, as Barney Fife of “The Andy Griffith Show” might say.

Note: COPD News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of COPD News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.