Lung Cancer Symptoms

A symptom is defined as an obvious change in the body's appearance, sensation, or functions, which indicate an underlying disorder, illness, or disease in the body. Usually, symptoms appear only after the disease has grown. In worse cases, like cancer, symptoms appear when the cancer has reached its final, fatal stages.

Lung cancer, like all other types of cancers, results from abnormal and uncontrolled cell growth. It is the abnormal and uncontrollable cell growth of the lung tissues, particularly the bronchi tissues, which can spread to the other parts of the body, such as the other lung, heart, etc. Ultimately, lung cancer leads to suffering due to respiratory complications, and death.

These are some of the several symptoms of lung cancer:

• Cachexia – weight loss due to loss of appetite or effect of cancer to circulation of energy in the bloodstream

• Chest or abdominal pain – effect of cancer to the abdominal or chest muscles.

• Chronic coughing – random change in coughing patterns, which does not subside despite of medication.

• clubbing of the fingernails

• Difficulty swallowing – effect of cancer to the esophagus.

• Dysphonia – effect of cancer to the trachea, causing it to function abnormally in producing voice.

• Dyspnea – breathing difficulties, caused by the cancer growing in the bronchial airways, which eventually leads to pneumonia.

• Fatigue – effect of cancer to distribution of energy to the muscles.

• Hemoptysis – since the the lung is a major organ where blood flows, blood would always be present, even in the cancer-affected area of the lungs. This part may become fragile, causing it to bleed. The patient may cough up blood out of his or her bronchial airways.

• Loss of appetite – effect of cancer to the stomach or psyche.

• Pneumonia – usually the leading symptom of lung cancer, caused by accumulation of mucus behind the blocked area of the bronchi.

• Wheezing – effect of cancer to the respiratory tree in the lungs, causing it to become narrowed or obstructed, increasing the velocity of airflow. When this happens, the increased airflow produced a whistling sound during breathing.

Some symptoms of lung cancer are very serious, such as pain in the bones, spinal pain, abnormality in the nervous system functions, pain in the liver, psychological abnormality. These symptoms happen when the lung cancer cells have spread to the bones, placed pressure on the spinal cord, affected the nervous system, and has spread to the liver and brain.

The problem with lung cancer is that its symptoms occur when the disease is already in its middle or final stage of the disease. Either the patient would require surgery, or chemotherapy.