Cancer symptoms are quite varied and depend on where the cancer is located, where it has spread, and how big the tumor is. Lung cancer symptoms may take years before appearing, usually after the disease is in an advanced stage.
Many symptoms of lung cancer affect the chest and air passages. These include:
- Persistent or intense coughing
- Pain in the chest shoulder, or back from coughing
- Changes in color of the mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (sputum)
- Difficulty breathing and swallowing
- Hoarseness of the voice
- Harsh sounds while breathing (stridor)
- Chronic bronchitis or pneumonia
- Coughing up blood, or blood in the sputum
If the lung cancer spreads, or metastasizes, additional symptoms can present themselves in the newly affected area. Swollen or enlarged lymph nodes are common and likely to be present early. If cancer spreads to the brain, patients may experience vertigo, headaches, or seizures. In addition, the liver may become enlarged and cause jaundice and bones can become painful, brittle, and broken. It is also possible for the cancer to infect the adrenal glands resulting in hormone level changes.
As lung cancer cells spread and use more of the body's energy, it is possible to present symptoms that may also be associated with many other ailments. These include:
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss
- Pain in joints or bones
- Problems with brain function and memory
- Swelling in the neck or face
- General weakness
- Bleeding and blood clots
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