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Signs & Symptoms of Advanced Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a leading fatal form of cancer, and as many as 9 out of every 10 lung cancer deaths is due to cigarette smoking. The condition is diagnosed using a physical examination, an imaging test such as an MRI or CT scan, and a biopsy of the lung tissue. Treatment may consist of chemotherapy drugs, radiation treatment, or a combination of the two.

  1. Coughing

    • Lung cancer may take some time to develop and it may not show any symptoms at all until it has reached the advanced stage. One of the common symptoms of advanced stage lung cancer is a cough. It may develop slowly as a barely noticeable cough, but over time your cough will become more apparent and more frustrating. If you already have a regular cough from another condition, then that cough may become more chronic and much more noticeable. You may also cough up blood. In some cases it may be spots of blood, in other cases it may be a more substantial amount.

    Breathing

    • The advanced form of lung cancer will slowly start to make breathing much more difficult. At first you may notice occasional difficulty in catching your breath after minimal physical activity, but over time you will start to experience a severe shortness of breath that can make you dizzy. You may experience chest pain, and after a while you may make a wheezing sound each time you try to take in a breath.

    Voice

    • The more advanced stages of lung cancer will make anything that requires breath difficult to do. One of the things that will become noticeable is a change in your voice. Your voice will become hoarse, and over an extended period of time you may find it painful to speak. It may begin with your voice having a low gravel-like sound to it, and over time it will deteriorate to a hoarse timber that may be difficult for people to understand.

    Bronchitis

    • Lung cancer in its advanced stages will begin to invite other bronchial conditions that may become chronic. One of these conditions is bronchitis. If you find yourself constantly battling bronchitis and it seems to be a recurring condition, then that may possibly be a symptom of the advanced stages of lung cancer.

    Weight Loss

    • Some of the symptoms of advanced lung cancer develop along with the condition. You may not feel a loss of appetite when you first contract lung cancer, but as the condition advances you may start to experience a lack of desire to eat. Even if you do not lose your appetite, you still may notice a gradual and unexplained weight loss. In some cases you may not change your diet at all but yet you keep losing noticeable amounts of weight.

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