Lung Cancer Symptoms

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One of the biggest obstacles with diagnosing lung cancer is that many patients do not have any lung cancer symptoms until the cancer is in advanced stages. That is why it is very important for people, especially those at high risk, to understand lung cancer symptoms. People must be aware what these symptoms are and see their doctor if they even suspect they may have lung cancer.

Hidden Disease

Lung cancer does not usually produce any tell tale symptoms in earlier stages. Usually when symptoms do present they are related to the growth of the tumor or the spread of cancer to other areas of the body. In many cases, lung cancer is discovered when a chest x-ray is taken for another reason.

The problem with lung cancer not exhibiting symptoms early is that as the disease grows it gets more difficult to treat and the likelihood of it spreading to other parts of the body grows.

Even when symptoms do present it can be difficult to notice that they are something more than a chest cold or other common respiratory illness. Many times people ignore them or use over the counter medication to try and treat what they believe is a simple virus.

Symptoms

Lung cancer symptoms are usually similar to those you would feel with a common virus or infection. They include:

• Persistent cough
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath

Lung cancer symptoms can also include coughing up blood, which usually gets attention because it is not a common symptom of a cold or common virus. However, in many cases this is a symptom that comes later in the stage of lung cancer growth.

The best way to catch lung cancer symptoms early is to just be aware. Some things to be aware of and watch for are:

• A new cough that develops suddenly, especially if you smoke or used to smoke.
• A persistent cough that does not go away even with medication.
• Pain in the chest that is dull, yet persistent.
• Wheezing
• Hoarseness
• Repeated respiratory illness

Lung cancer symptoms can also vary depending on the type of cancer. Metastatic lung cancer tumors may react differently in the body and cause different symptoms. They can spread to the adrenal glands, the bones and even the brain. Most do not cause any symptoms. Depending on where the tumor has spread it can cause pain and if in the brain it can cause symptoms like dizziness and seizures.

Part of the reason why lung cancer has a high death rate is due to the fact that it is very difficult to catch in the early stages. Symptoms and signs are the main way that people discover they have cancer and when there just are not any symptoms present it can make it impossible to discover the cancer in time to administer proper, life saving, treatment.

Please also check out my other guide on symptoms of lung cancer

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