Lung cancer symptoms

Lung cancer Symptoms & Signs of Lung cancer

People with lung cancer may experience the following symptoms. Sometimes people with lung cancer do not show any of these symptoms. Or, these symptoms may be caused by a medical condition that is not cancer. If you are concerned about a symptom on this list, please talk with your doctor.

For people with lung cancer who have no symptoms, their lung cancer can be discovered on a chest x-ray or CT scan performed for some other reason, such as checking for heart disease. Most people with lung cancer are diagnosed when the tumor grows, takes up space, or begins to interfere with nearby structures. Lung tumors may also make fluid that can collect in the lung or the space around the lung. A tumor can push the air out of the lungs and cause the lung to collapse. In this way, lung tumors can prevent the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide by blocking the flow of air into the lungs, or by using up the space normally required for oxygen to come in and carbon dioxide to go out of the lung.

Symptoms of a lung cancer may include:

• Fatigue (tiredness)


• Cough


• Shortness of breath


• Chest pain, if a tumor invades a structure within the chest or involves the lining of the lung


• Loss of appetite


• Coughing up phlegm or mucus


• Hemoptysis (coughing up blood)

Although lung cancer can metastasize (spread) anywhere in the body, the most common sites of spread are the lymph nodes, lungs, bones, brain, liver, and structures near the kidneys called the adrenal glands. Metastases (spread to more than one area) from lung cancer can cause further breathing difficulties, bone pain, abdominal or back pain, headache, weakness, seizures, and/or speech difficulties. Rarely, lung tumors can release hormones that result in chemical imbalances, such as low blood sodium levels or high blood calcium.

Symptoms such as fatigue, malaise (feeling out-of-sorts or unwell), and loss of appetite are not necessarily due to metastases. The presence of cancer anywhere in the body can cause a person to feel unwell in a general way. Loss of appetite can result in weight loss. Fatigue and weakness can further worsen breathing difficulties.