Symptoms of Lung Cancer
In up to 25% of people who get lung cancer may have no symptoms when the cancer is diagnosed. These cancers generally are discovered on a routine chest X-ray-performed for another reason. The majority of people with lung cancer have symptoms. The symptoms of lung cancer depend on primary tumor, metastatic tumors or disturbances of hormones.
The symptoms of lung cancer may include;
• Having a cough (most of the time)
• Coughing up (dry or with bloody)
• Fatigue
• Pain when breathing or coughing
• Wheezing
• Losing weight without trying
• Lack of appetite
• Shortness of breath with activity
• Chest pain
• Repeated infections (bronchitis or pneumonia)
• Swelling of the face, arms, or neck
Additional lung cancer symptoms that may also include:
• Swallowing difficulty
• A hoarse voice or changing voice
• Nail problems (called finger clubbing)
• Weakness
• Joint or bone pain
• Swelling of the neck or face
Lung cancer symptoms may be caused by other diseases distant.
Lung cancer is most often metastatic to the liver, the adrenal glands, the bones, and the brain. Metastatic lung cancer in the adrenal glands characteristically does not cause any symptom. Also, spread to liver usually does not cause symptoms.
People with metastatic lung cancer may have some following symptoms:
• Bone pain (usually in the backbone, the thighbones, and the ribs)
• Weakness in the extremities
• Neurological symptoms.
Lung cancer symptoms in women and lung cancer symptoms in men have some differences. The reasons of the differences in lung cancer are hormonal and genetic influences. The response to treatment is also different. Statistically, survival rate in women is high at all stages of lung cancer.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer in Women
In women, estrogen plays a critically role in the development and progression of lung cancer According to researchers, when ovaries take out surgically before menopause, women may be at higher risk of developing lung cancer and hormone replacement therapy (treatment with estrogen and progesterone) may raise the risk of dying from lung cancer.
Adenocarcinoma is the most common lung cancer type in women. Adenocarcinoma may develop or spread to other parts of the system. Initial symptoms of lung cancer in women may include:
• Fatigue
• Feeling pain in chest, back or shoulder
• Shortness of breath with activity
• Symptoms in bones and the brain (because of metastasis)
BAC (Bronchioloalveolar cancer) is a rare form of lung cancer and classified as a type of adenocarcinoma by The World Health Organization. This type of lung cancer is common in non-smokers young women.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer in Men
Symptoms of lung cancer in men generally do not show themselves in initial stages. When the disease growths, cough will be chronic or chest pain may occur.
Squamous cell carcinoma is more common type of lung cancer in men. The symptoms of the squamous cell may include coughing up blood, a chronic cough, wheezing, repeated lung infections (such as pneumonia or bronchitis), hoarseness, and shortness of breath.
Small cell lung cancers are more common in men then in women and associated to smoking. It starts near the large airways and spreads to other organs (especially to the brain).
Paraneoplastic syndrome is more common in men than women. Paraneoplastic syndrome symptoms may include a high calcium level, a low sodium level, weakness in the upper limbs, and loss of coordination.
The most common types of lung cancer in men develop close to the central airways. Coughing up blood and coughing may appear earlier in men than in women.
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