lung cancer symptoms

lung cancer symptoms

The symptoms of lung cancer depend on its type, its location, and the way it spreads within the lungs, to areas near the lungs, or elsewhere in the body. Some people have no symptoms at the time of diagnosis.

One of the more common symptoms is a persistent cough or, in people who have a chronic cough, a change in the character of the cough. Some people cough up blood or sputum streaked with blood (hemoptysis). Rarely, lung cancer grows into an underlying blood vessel and causes severe bleeding.

Additional nonspecific symptoms of lung cancer include loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, chest pain, and weakness.

Complications of lung cancer
Lung cancer may narrow the airway, causing wheezing. If a tumor blocks an airway, part of the lung that the airway supplies may collapse, a condition called atelectasis. Other consequences of a blocked airway are shortness of breath and pneumonia, which may result in coughing, fever, and chest pain.

If the tumor grows into the chest wall, it may cause persistent, unrelenting chest pain. Fluid containing cancerous cells can accumulate in the space between the lung and the chest wall (a condition referred to as malignant pleural effusion). Large amounts of fluid can lead to shortness of breath and chest pain. If the cancer spreads throughout the lungs, the levels of oxygen in the blood become low, causing shortness of breath and eventually enlargement of the right side of the heart and possible heart failure (a disorder called cor pulmonale).

Lung cancer may grow into certain nerves in the neck, causing a droopy eyelid, small pupil, and reduced perspiration on one side of the face—together these symptoms are called Horner syndrome.

Cancers at the top of the lung may grow into the nerves that supply the arm, making the arm or shoulder painful, numb, and weak. Tumors in this location are often called Pancoast tumors. When the tumor grows into nerves in the center of the chest, the nerve to the voice box may become damaged, making the voice hoarse, and the nerve to the diaphragm may become damaged, causing shortness of breath and low blood oxygen levels.

Lung cancer may grow into or near the esophagus, leading to difficulty swallowing or pain with swallowing.

Lung cancer may grow into the heart or in the midchest (mediastinal) region, causing abnormal heart rhythms, blockage of blood flow into the heart, or fluid in the sac surrounding the heart (pericardial sac).

The cancer may grow into or compress one of the large veins in the chest (the superior vena cava). This condition is called superior vena cava syndrome. Blockage of the superior vena cava causes blood to back up in other veins of the upper body. The veins in the chest wall enlarge. The face, neck, and upper chest wall—including the breasts—can swell, causing pain, and become flushed. The condition can also cause shortness of breath, headache, distorted vision, dizziness, and drowsiness. These symptoms usually worsen when the person bends forward or lies down.

Lung cancer may also spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, most commonly the liver, brain, adrenal glands, spinal cord, or bones. The spread of lung cancer may occur early in the course of disease, especially with small cell lung cancer. Symptoms—such as headache, confusion, seizures, and bone pain—may develop before any lung problems become evident, making an early diagnosis more complicated.