Most of the pathologic condition remains silent or undiagnosed until they have spread. As you all are aware of the fact that cancer has different stages if your cancer might be diagnosed at an earlier stage when treatment is more likely to be effective. Most the lungs cancer don’t cause any symptoms until they spread all the over the lung, but some people with early lung cancer do have symptoms. So here are the most common symptoms associated with lung cancer.
Early Symptoms of Lung Cancer
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- A cough persists more than 7 days or gets worse.
- Coughed up blood (hemoptysis) or rust-colored sputum (a mixture of saliva and mucus coughed up from respiratory tract)
- Dyspnea (Shortness of Breath)
- Chest pain that is often worse with deep inspiration, coughing and laughing.
- Hoarseness
- Wheezing
- Bronchitis infection and pneumonia that don’t go away or keep coming back in 4-5 days.
- Weight loss
- Feeling tired and dizziness.
Stage 2 Lung Cancer Symptoms
If lung cancer spreads to other body parts, it may cause
- If your lung cancer spread to the liver, it causes yellowing of the skin and eyes (Jaundice)
- Feel discomfort in back and hips.
- Nervous system starts to damage because cancer spreads to the brain and spinal cord due to these you feel a headache, weakness or numbness of an arm or leg, dizziness, balance problems or seizures.
- Start to form lumps near the surface of the body, due to spreading to the skin or to lymph nodes such as in the neck and above the clavicle (collar bone).
Last Stage Lung Cancer Symptoms
At the final stage of lung cancer can cause syndrome (the group of specific symptoms):
Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
Superior vena cava is a large vein through which the deoxygenated blood carries from the head, arms and back to the heart. Tumours in these areas can causes obstructions in the SVC further it can cause the blood back up in the veins. This can lead to swellings in the upper chest, face, back and arms.While SVC syndrome can become life-threatening and needs to be treated right away.
Horner Syndrome
Cancer in the top part of the lungs can affect nerves to the eye and face causing a group of symptoms a termed as the Horner syndrome.
- Dropping off one the upper eyelid
- small pupil ( notable difference in pupil size b/w the eyes)
- slightly elevation of the lower eyelid
- Severe shoulder pain
- Absence sweating on the same of the face( Anhidrosis)
- Sinking of the eyeball in the orbital cavity.
Paraneoplastic Syndromes
Types of the lung cancer start to develop hormones like substance which enter in the bloodstreams and affect the distant tissues and organs in the body; even there is no chance to spread cancer to those tissues and organs. In some of the cases, it is the first symptoms of lung cancer. Here, the symptoms include in the Paraneoplastic syndromes are:
- Hypercalcemia (high blood calcium level)
- Blood starts to clot
- Excess breast growth in men (Gynecomastia)
- Nervous System Problems
- Cushing Syndrome
Conclusion
Lung cancer can lead to damage all the body organs if it remains undiagnosed. Many of these symptoms may develop in other pathologic condition too, so it’s important to see a nearby physician right away so the cause can be found and treated if needed at the right time.
