Pensioner had nut stuck in lung

A 67-year-old man who was warned he might have lung cancer had actually had a cashew nut stuck in his lung for a year and a half. Doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, Norfolk, were baffled by Derek Kirchen's collapses and bouts of pneumonia.

They warned him he might have lung cancer after taking x-rays.

A consultant found the nut stuck in his lung, while carrying out an investigation with a miniature camera.

Consultant respiratory physician Dr Syed Tariq threaded a camera tube into Mr Kirchen's left lung while he was anaesthetised and found a suspicious black lump.

'Complete mystery'

He pulled out the lump using the equipment and found it was a cashew nut. Mr Kirchen, a retired construction worker, said the last time he ate a cashew was at Christmas 2004. He was discharged from hospital at the end of last week and is recovering in a nursing home.

"I just don't know how it got there, its a complete mystery," he said on Friday. - bbc