Warning Signs of Lung Cancer
Many people don’t experience symptoms until the cancer is advanced. Symptoms may include:
- Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Coughing up blood
- Fatigue
- Weight loss with no known cause
- Repeated bouts of pneumonia
- Swollen or enlarged lymph nodes inside the chest in the area between the lungs
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.
It can occur in anyone at any age. But cigarette smoking is the top risk factor and is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and most people diagnosed with the disease are 65 or older.
What makes lung cancer especially tricky is that it’s often symptomless until it’s at an advanced stage, when it’s harder to treat. Karam Hage says that in large-scale trials, early detection can lead to a 20 to 25 percent improvement in survival rates, resulting in fewer deaths from this cancer.
The ACS’s Smith says that while lung cancer cases and deaths continue to drop due to fewer people smoking and advances in treatment, “we still have to do better.” The update in the guidelines “is a step in the right direction,” he adds.
Eligible? Talk to your doctor
If you’re eligible for lung cancer screening, start by speaking with your primary care physician, Karam Hage says — even if it’s been a long time since you smoked.
“Traditionally, it was believed that after 15 years of no smoking, the risk of lung cancer decreases to a point that screening is no longer cost-effective. However, new data suggests that while the risk of lung cancer in former smokers goes down, the risk of malignancies from aging increases,” Karam Hage says.
