- One symptom of lung cancer is the development of a cough in a smoker who never had one before. Another sign is a cough in someone that used to smoke but has successfully quit. Unfortunately, a person can still develop lung cancer years after quitting smoking. Be concerned if the cough produces a mucus with blood or that is discolored. This coughing up of blood is referred to as hemoptysis. Other respiratory lung cancer symptoms include recurrent respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and hoarseness that doesn't go away. For those with lung cancer, wheezing or hoarseness is caused by inflammation in the respiratory system. One other lung cancer symptom is shortness of breath, which can be caused by a buildup of fluid in the lungs or because part of the lungs is blocked.
- About one-quarter of all lung cancer sufferers experience chest pain. While chest pain can be a symptom of many things, from indigestion to heart attack, those with lung cancer may feel a dull ache that doesn't go away. The pain may also be felt in parts of the body around the lungs. Chest pain in a current or former smoker can signal either a very serious illness or something very minor. Only a doctor can determine which is the case, so it's best to have any chest pain symptoms evaluated.
- Loss of appetite and feeling tired are some lung cancer symptoms that may be mistaken for something else. After all, if a person is experiencing high amounts of stress, she might think her appetite and energy levels are low because of such issues. However, if there is a sudden significant weight loss without changes in physical activity or more healthful eating habits, this may be because of lung cancer.
- More symptoms of lung cancer are weakness in the muscles or changes in skin, bones and nails. Lung cancer can cause skin rashes and changes under the nails because of body tissue being added there, making the fingers looked clubbed. New bone tissue can develop along the arms and legs. One can feel pain due to these changes in the thighs, back and ribs. This is because the lung cancer is spreading, or metastasizing, to the bone tissue. Not only can it spread to the bone, but also to the brain, causing changes in sight and possible seizures.
- In one-quarter of all lung cancer diagnoses, the patients had no symptoms when the cancer was discovered. The cancer is caught by happenstance while a person is being treated or evaluated for some other reason. The person may have an X-ray of the chest that enables the doctors to spot the cancer. Still, three-quarters of those with lung cancer do eventually show symptoms due to the tumor or in other parts of the body because of changes in blood and body chemistry.
