What is Lung Cancer?
Lung cancer is an abnormal growth of lung cells which have the ability to spread to other organs of the body including the lymph glands, adrenal glands, brain, bone and liver. Almost all lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the United States.
What are the Warning Signs?
Warning signs include persistent cough, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, weight loss, chest pain, coughing up blood and recurrent bronchitis or pneumonia. Because some of these symptoms may not appear until the disease has advanced, early detection of lung cancer sometimes occurs incidentally during screening, diagnostic or routine x-rays and cat scans.
Lung cancer is an abnormal growth of lung cells which have the ability to spread to other organs of the body including the lymph glands, adrenal glands, brain, bone and liver. Almost all lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the United States.
What are the Warning Signs?
Warning signs include persistent cough, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, weight loss, chest pain, coughing up blood and recurrent bronchitis or pneumonia. Because some of these symptoms may not appear until the disease has advanced, early detection of lung cancer sometimes occurs incidentally during screening, diagnostic or routine x-rays and cat scans.
When Should I Be
Tested for Lung Cancer?
People with the following conditions should be examined by a physician. Many diseases can cause these symptoms, but investigation of each symptom is indicated.
- Chronic cough
- Hoarseness
- Coughing up blood
- Weight loss or loss of appetite
- Shortness of breath
- Fever without a known reason
- Repeated pneumonia or bronchitis
- Chest pain
- Abnormal chest x-ray
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