Symptoms of Lung Cancer
By the time symptoms appear, lung cancer is usually fairly advanced. According to the National Cancer Institute, symptoms may include:
- A cough that doesn't go away and gets worse over time
- Constant non-cardiac chest pain
- Coughing up blood
- Shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness
- Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis
- Swelling of the neck and face
- Loss of appetite or weight loss
- Fatigue
Because these symptoms may be caused by lung cancer or by some other condition, be sure to check with a doctor.
When a person is having symptoms such as those listed above, s/he should check with a doctor. Tests that the doctor may use to help find the cause of symptoms include chest x-rays and sputum cytology (using a microscope to examine cells in mucus that is coughed up from the lungs). If lung cancer is suspected, examining tissue from the lung can confirm a cancer diagnosis. For additional information on a diagnosis of lung cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute Website.
Screening and Diagnosis for Lung Cancer
Screening healthy people without symptoms of lung cancer has not been shown to reduce the number of lung cancer deaths. However, the National Cancer Institute is conducting a large, long-term clinical trial to determine if screening for lung cancer using annual chest x-rays may have some other benefits. (Clinical trials are research studies of new methods or agents to prevent, detect, or treat a disease, or to study quality of life issues.)
New technology that is being studied as a possible lung cancer screening test is called low-dose helical computed tomography (LDCT). The National Cancer Institute is conducting a clinical trial to determine the potential risks, benefits, and effectiveness of using LDCT to screen for lung cancer.
Last updated on 02/25/2005 11:08 pm.
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