Signs & Symptoms

Transcript

Most lung cancers are asymptomatic, particularly at their earlier stages. However, depending on the location and how advanced the tumor is at the time of diagnosis, it can present with symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, coughing up of blood, weight loss, and chest wall pain.

That being the case, patients are typically surprised if they are found incidentally to have a lung nodule that’s concerning for early stage cancer, patients are often surprised and feel like “I can’t have lung cancer. I have no symptoms.” This is a myth. Early stage lung cancer is almost always asymptomatic. This is why screening is so important.

Key Takeaways

1. Most lung cancers are asymptomatic.

2. However, depending on the location and how advanced the tumor is, it can present chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, coughing up of blood, weight loss, and chest wall pain.

3. Patients are often surprised when a lung nodule is found and think they can’t have lung cancer since they have no symptoms – this is a myth.

4. Since most early stage lung cancers don’t show symptoms, screening is very important.