Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is a real nightmare for most patients. After times of uncertainty, you finally know what it is, but often it is just the beginning. After the diagnosis, you’ll get more and more tests, and you’ve to start treatment immediately. Each year, about 100,000 Americans die from lung cancer, after fighting so hard to get better. That’s why it’s so important to get diagnosed at an early stage! The sooner your cancer is diagnosed, the better your chances of surviving this terrible disease. Therefore, it is incredibly important that you are aware of the warning signs. After all, a small cough is not always just a cough…
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
A simple cough is not always just an innocent cough. In most cases, it often points to the flu, Covid-19, or some other respiratory infection. Yet it can also be one of the first warning signs of lung cancer. In case your cough turns into a chronic cough – that is, you can’t get rid of it anymore – or you cough up blood or bloody (or funny-looking) mucus; make sure you make an appointment with your doctor soon.
Recurring Respiratory Infections
You might think pneumonia is just pneumonia and bronchitis is just bronchitis; “I just go to the doctor, he writes out antibiotics for me, I take them, and I’m good to go.” True, but the moment a respiratory infection keeps recurring, it is time to get a lung X-ray, because suffering from chronic lung infections – like pneumonia and bronchitis – isn’t normal. Chances are it is bad news. In case it’s lung cancer, these infections keep happening, because the body’s immune system has to fight the malignancy and cannot fight bacterial respiratory infections.
Other very important symptoms you should keep in mind are:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Losing weight without trying
- Bone pain
- Headache
- Hoarseness
- Hand and finger pain & tiredness
- Mood swings
Do you recognize one or more of the above symptoms in yourself or a loved one? If so, make an appointment with your doctor to have a lung X-ray soon. Better safe than sorry! Continue reading on the next page and discover, among others, how lung cancer is diagnosed and staged.
