Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] Hi my father has a long history of copd . Over the last 6 months he has become increasingly breathless , fatigued and there is a notable weightloss. He had an xray which showed a shadow on his lung . The GP has arrannged an urgent CT scan and told my father that the outcome could be nasty ,,,, or a deep seeded infection. He has no symptoms of a fever etc but is complianing of pain in his chest particuarlry when swallowing food, Could the shadow be cancer?
[|AI|]  Hi and welcome to Chat Doctor. Unfortunately yes, it can be. It is usually diagnosed by detecting such shadows on X-ray. But also pneumonia or localized emphysema, bronchiectasie and other smoking related disease can be. CT, bronchoscopy and biopsy can give exact diagnosis. You must be ready for everything but hope for the best. Also, if it is cancer it is necessary to see is it operable and which way of treatment is the best for him. Wish you good health.