Lung cancer or carcinoma of the lung is uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung, usually in the cells lining the air passages. It is the leading cause of death due to cancer worldwide.
Lung cancer is strongly related to cigarette smoking. 90% of lung cancer is caused by smoking though non-smokers can also have lung cancer.
There are usually no symptoms in the early stage of lung cancer. In most cases, diagnosis is made after the disease has advanced.
Common symptoms include:
- Having a cough most of the time
- Cough that does not go away after 2-3 weeks or becomes worse
- Pain in chest, shoulder, back or arms, which is not associated with coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing of blood or blood in sputum
- An ache when breathing or coughing
- Recurrent chest infection such as pneumonia
- Hoarseness of voice
- Loss of appetite
- Tiredness
- Weight loss
Symptoms related to metastasis (spread of the cancer):
- Bone pain due to cancer metastasis to the bone
- Headache or neurological symptoms such as blurred vision, seizures (fits), altered mental status, loss of sensation in parts of the body due to metastasis in brain
Paraneoplastic syndrome symptoms: Paraneoplastic syndrome occurs most commonly in small cell lung cancer and can affect nearly any system of the body. This is caused by a hormone-like substance produced by tumour cells, which is released in the blood.
- Muscle weakness and cramping
- Clubbing of nails (a deformity of the nails)
- Increased level of calcium in blood
Changed
31/Aug/2017
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