What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer With an MS Diagnosis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that attacks the nervous system. While MS symptoms vary from person to person, many experience muscle problems like weakness, numbness and tingling, and bowel problems. According to a study conducted by the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in conjunction with the University of Oxford, the risk of lung cancer is actually reduced in people who have multiple sclerosis, especially since many people with MS cease smoking. However, some people with MS do get lung cancer and their symptoms are in line with those who do not have MS.

Breathing Problems

• New and persistent breathing problems are a potential sign of lung cancer. According to the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Center, breathing issues are not a common sign of MS and should not be ignored. Breathing problems with MS usually only affect those who are severely disabled, so most symptoms should be attributed to something else, including lung cancer. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, lung cancer does not present itself in symptoms during its earliest stages. Most signs and symptoms will appear only in the disease's more advanced stages. One of the most common early symptoms of lung cancer is a persistent, new cough that won't seem to go away.

More Breathing Problems

• As lung cancer develops, breathing problems worsen. That new cough becomes chronic. Sometimes dubbed "smoker's cough," it will be hoarse, deep and constant. As the cough worsens, you will begin coughing up small amounts of blood. This blood gives your spit a brownish tint. Another common sign of lung cancer is shortness of breath. While it is often worse following physical exertion, this shortness of breath can also occur when you stand up or shift positions. Like other lung cancer symptoms, shortness of breath also worsens as the disease progresses. People lung cancer also have a pronounced wheeze when they breathe.

Pain and Other Symptoms

• Widespread pain in the muscle is a common symptom of MS, but the pain associated with lung cancer is somewhat different. Pain is often localized in the chest and in the head. As the disease advances, the bones themselves also ache. One common symptom that MS and lung cancer share is an overwhelming sense of fatigue. People with lung cancer also drop a good deal of weight without trying, get fevers for no reason and are prone to recurring pulmonary infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. While people with MS have weakened immune systems as well, the symptoms of lung cancer are quite distinct and should not be attributed to MS.