What are benign lung tumors?

What are benign lung tumors?

Hearing the word “tumor” naturally may cause fear. However, “tumor” simply means an abnormal buildup of tissue that occurs when cells divide too quickly or do not die off as they normally should. A lung tumor is a tumor that occurs in the lung tissue itself or in the airways that lead to the lungs. Lung tumors can be either cancerous (malignant) or benign (non-cancerous).

If you’ve been told that you have a lung tumor and it “looks like it’s benign,” what does that mean? Should you still be concerned?

Compared to malignant tumors, benign lung tumors:

• Aren’t cancerous, so won’t spread to other parts of the body.
• Grow slowly, or might even stop growing or shrink.
• Aren’t usually life-threatening.
• Usually do not need to be removed.
• Can expand and push against nearby tissues but will not invade, destroy, or replace other tissues.