Cancer Society of America

More risk factors

Beside smoking, many other risk factors are related to high risk of lung cancer, following are the most important ones:

Exposure to radon gas which is a natural gas found in the soil and it’s radioactive,
Exposure to cancerous chemicals,
History of previous chronic lung diseases,
Excessive air pollution,
Family history of lung cancer,
People with low immunity,
Previous history of treated lung cancer.

The exact cause of lung cancer is not very clear. Many people who get lung cancer have no specific risk factor for it.

Symptoms of lung cancer

Lung cancer may produce a wide range of symptoms, most of them are general. Following are the most common ones:

Persistent cough: if there is a persistent cough that doesn’t get relieved despite management, one needs to consult his/her doctor as soon as possible,
Changes in a chronic cough: if one has chronic cough, any change in quality of voice, phlegm or sputum production is very significant,
Shortness of breath after any mild activity,
Coughing blood,
Chest pain when taking deep breath or when coughing,
Loosing appetite,
Persistent tiredness that doesn’t get relieved after rest,
Unintentional weight loss,
Persistent chest infection which doesn’t get relieved after proper management.

Rare lung cancer symptoms

Some of the symptoms that are rarely caused by lung cancer, but their presence indicates that lung cancer may have gotten in its advanced stage. Following
are some of them:

Change in the quality of voice due to the involvement of the larynx (voice box),
Swallowing with difficulty,
Face swelling,
Neck swelling,
Changes in the nails shape; they become more curved,
Difficulty breathing due to the accumulation of fluids in the lung,
Pain in the right upper part of the belly due to the involvement of the liver.

Although these symptoms may be caused by a variety of other disorders, excluding lung cancer is very crucial. Some rare types of lung cancer can secret
hormones which cause disturbance in the internal environment of the body.

Screening for lung cancer

Urgent chest x-ray should be done if:

The patient is coughing fresh blood,
The patient is coughing phlegm mixed with blood,
The patient is having the following symptoms for three weeks or more:

Dry cough
Chest pain
Shoulder pain
Difficulty breathing
Change in voice
Unintentional weight loss
Sensation of small masses in the neck; lymph nodes
Changes in the nails

When to refer the patient immediately

You have to consult a specialist as soon as possible if you have one of the following situations:

Evidences of suspicious findings in the chest x-ray,
You are a smoker or ex-smoker, and now you are coughing blood,
Personal exposure to asbestos for a long period of time, and you are now complaining from chest pain and difficulty breathing.

It’s preferred to consult your doctor no later than four weeks maximum from the time you find out if you have one of the following:

Accidental finding of some small swellings in the face,
Accidental finding of some small swellings in the neck,
Consistent loud noisy breathing; especially when sleeping.

Cancer Society of America | Lung Cancer | Cause, Symptoms & Risk Factors of Cancer | Cancer Diagnosis | Cancer Prevention, Early Detection & Treatment

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American American

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide in
both men and women. Smoking is closely related to lung cancer. It’s
documented that in every ten cases of lung cancer, nine of them are
caused by smoking. People who have never smoked may still be at
risk of developing lung cancer, but at a much lower rate in comparison
with smokers.

The risk of getting lung cancer due to smoking depends on two factors;
the number of cigarettes that are smoked per day, and the duration that
have been smoking; the longer the duration, the higher the risk.

Smoking cigarettes is the major risk factor for lung cancer, however cigar and pipe smoking are not any better! In fact smoking cigar
is associated with much higher risk of lung cancer than smoking cigarettes.

People who don’t smoke, but live with others who are smoking in same closed area (passive smokers), are at higher risk of lung
cancer than other population with no smoking, but less than the actual smokers themselves.

Once one stops smoking, the risk of getting lung cancer will drop down, thus it’s worthy to stop smoking as soon as possible to
protect your lungs.

When to seek specialist’s help?

Most symptoms of lung cancer are general and can be caused by variety of benign conditions. It may be difficult for a general
physician to distinguish between benign and cancer cases. That’s why there are recommended guidelines for the patient’s referral
to specialist, the guidelines are explained below.