I have been diagnosed with a mediastinal mass. In 1996, I had 2 thoracic surgeries due to cryptococcal pneumonia. I lost my upper left lobe of my lung cavity. Ten days later had to have a pericardium graft to seal my lower left lobe that the pneumonia had begun to damage. I took several rounds of diflucan antibiotics till my blood cell counts returned to normal. I m currently being seen by pulmonary specialist who feels that this mass is a result of scar tissue. Over past year I have noticed changes with my pain level, night sweats, shortness of breath, etc. anxiety / stress causes my chest to constrict as if a boa constrictor is squeezing the breath out of me. By having the 2 surgeries I lost 4 of my 5th left rib when I was only to loose 4cm! In the beginning my doctor diagnosed my situation as being scar tissue, another physician referred to it as a left hilar mass, now they refer to it as a mediastinal mass. I m scheduled for a pft test this week & have had chest X-ray last march, followed by cat scan w/ contrast last April ,& finally a cat scan this past Friday but contrast couldn t be used because after 8 attempts to have an IV contrast was cancelled. Medical assistants stated I wasn t dehydrated. They could pull the blood but when they tried to flush either vein blew or dried up . Specialist says I m not a surgical candidate . They do consistently use the term mass & not tumor. What s the difference & chances of my recovery?