Symptoms

Early lung cancer often does not cause symptoms. But as the cancer grows, common symptoms may include:

•· a cough that gets worse or does not go away

•· breathing trouble, such as shortness of breath

•· constant chest pain

•· coughing up blood

•· a hoarse voice

•· frequent lung infections, such as pneumonia

•· feeling very tired all the time

•· weight loss with no known cause

Most often these symptoms are not due to cancer. Other health problems can cause some of these symptoms. Anyone with such symptoms should see a doctor to be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Most of the cases of this disease are asymptomatic the disease is revealed as a result of routine radiological examination of the chest, but some patient also show symptoms and signs. The main symptoms include cough, dyspnea, wheeze, stridor and sometimes pneumonia due to bronchial obstruction. 

If the tumor grows within the lung tissue it can cause pain. Sometimes patient can demonstrate symptoms of abscess formation due to tumor caviation. The spreading of tumor regionally can also result in dysphagia due to esophageal compression, hoarseness due to laryngeal nerve paralysis, dyspnea due to phrenic nerve paralysis and horner syndrome due to sympathetic nerve paralysis. Pancoasts syndrome is result of extension of tumour in the apex of the lungs which involves last cervical and first and second thoracic nerves compression of the nerves results in shoulder pain. 

Cancer can spread in practically all organs. This type of cancer can spread in brain causing some neurological problems, in bones causing pain and fractures, bone marrow invasion causing cytopenias, liver metastases resulting in biochemical imbalance, adrenal metastases is also common but it does not results in insufficiency. Systemic symptoms like anorexia, cachexia, suppressed immunity, weight loss, fever are general symptoms practically found in all patients in the later stages. 

In some patients we can find hypocalcaemia and hypophosphatemia due to ectopic parathyroid hormone releasing tumors. 

Skeletal-connective tissue syndrome that is clubbing of fingers can also be seen in some patients. Some times retinal blindness is seen in patients suffering from small cell cancer. 

Dermatological manifestations like dermatomyositis and acanthosis nigricans are also seen in some patients but very rarely.