Frankly speaking about lung cancer

(third edition)

Table Of Contents

Symptoms

Many people with lung cancer (NSCLC or SCLC) have no symptoms or only vague symptoms until the disease has progressed significantly. As a result, only 15% of lung cancers are discovered in the earliest stages, when the possibility of cure is greatest.

Symptoms may seem unrelated to the lungs or breathing. Because lung cancer is most likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, it may have spread to the other lung or other parts of the body. Depending upon where the cancer spreads, symptoms also can include headaches, bloody colored sputum with coughing (hemoptosis), weakness, bone fractures, or blood clots.

Common lung cancer symptoms

When lung cancer does cause symptoms, they can include:

  • Coughing
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fatigue
  • Pain in chest, shoulder, upper back, or arm
  • General pain
  • Repeated pneumonia or bronchitis
  • Blood coughed up in sputum
  • Loss of appetite and weight
  • Hoarseness
  • Wheezing
  • Swelling in the face or neck

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