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An overview of lung cancer symptoms
Lung cancer is a very serious health condition that affects both men and women. According to the American Cancer Society, it ranks number one in fatality rates for men and number two for women. This form of cancer is typically a result of a combination of things and not necessarily only caused by tobacco use. Because otherwise, every smoker would get lung cancer and we know that this is not the case. However, needless to point out that smokers are at a significantly higher risk of developing lung cancer versus non smoking individuals. The diagnosis is tricky, as the commonly known symptoms cannot be conclusively linked back to lung cancer, but could also lead to diagnoses of other, less severe conditions.
Knowing the symptoms of lung cancer can help to create awareness and help you react quickly in case you encounter any out of the ordinary signs on yourself. Frequently reported lung cancer symptoms are:
- Dyspnea, which is also a typical sign of excessive physical activity. Coughing up blood, which is called hemoptysis. It sometimes gets mixed up with hematemesis, which is referring to blood vomiting.
- A distinct chest pain while coughing.
- Rapid weight loss with loss of appetite, extreme fatigue (cachexia).
There are a few other symptoms which are less commonly seen in lung cancer patients:
- Problems swallowing, which is known as dysphagia.
- Swelling of the face.
- Swelling of the neck, which is a result of bloated lymph nodes.
- Deformation of the fingers and nails. This occurrence is also known as clubbing.
- Fluid in the lungs, called pleural effusion.
As a kidney cancer patient, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of consulting with a health care professional as soon as possible if you encounter any kind of strange symptoms. When I passed blood in my urine, I immediately saw an Urologist. Three weeks later I was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma, cancer of the kidney. I lost my left kidney to the cancer; however, if I had ignored the symptoms and waited any longer, the outcome could have been vastly more severe.
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