What are the symptoms during the onset of lung cancer

The mortality rate after suffering from lung cancer is very high, so we should pay attention to it in the early stage of lung cancer, otherwise it will be incurable in the later stage. We all know that some diseases will have some early signs to remind everyone that there is something wrong with their body. Lung cancer also has some early signs to remind everyone, so we need to understand it, so that we can find out the condition of our body in time. Let's follow the editor to ask the experts.

Five early signs of lung cancer that should be noticed

1. Hoarseness

This is the most important early feature of lung cancer and also a new discovery explored by experts at home and abroad in recent years.

Hoarseness can occur in pharyngitis, colds, and acute bronchitis; after thyroid surgery, pharyngeal surgery; or after improper vocalization, excessive talking, or even heavy smoking and drinking. However, this type of hoarseness can generally be treated symptomatically or healed by rest. Hoarseness caused by lung cancer, thyroid cancer, and laryngeal cancer is completely different from the above types of hoarseness, especially lung cancer.

Other early symptoms of lung pain, such as cough, chest pain, hemoptysis, etc., lack characteristic features, while hoarseness has certain specificity. According to statistics, about 20% to 30% of lung cancer patients may experience hoarseness at different stages of the disease, including the early stage, of which central lung cancer may be as high as 40%. The pathology of hoarseness caused by lung cancer is that the tumor invades and compresses the nerves that control the vocal cords. This hoarseness often occurs suddenly, progresses rapidly, and even completely loses the voice. At the same time, most patients are accompanied by chest pain, etc., and there is still no effect after rest and anti-inflammatory symptomatic treatment for more than two weeks.

2. Fever

When central lung cancer grows in the bronchus and develops to the point where the lumen is semi-obstructed or completely obstructed, obstructive pneumonia may occur. The fever is generally around 38°C and can be easily reduced with anti-inflammatory treatment. However, if the obstructive lesions are not removed, pneumonia will reappear soon, forming recurrent pneumonia.

3. No symptoms

About 1/3 of lung cancer patients do not have any obvious early symptoms, and their lesions can only be detected early through regular examinations.

4. Coughing up blood

This is special in early lung cancer cases. For example, in central lung cancer, coughing up blood often occurs in the early and middle stages of the disease. The amount of blood is not much, and the blood is bright red or mixed with foam. The reason for this phenomenon is that the surface of the tumor is rich in blood vessels. Coughing damages the surface layer, causing blood vessels to rupture. If there is occasional coughing up blood, it often recurs or only lasts for a long period of time.

5. Cough

Lung cancer has different symptoms due to its different locations and functional damage. Since tumors mostly grow on large bronchi and are highly irritating, coughing is easy to occur. However, the degree of cough varies. About 50% of patients have irritating coughs, no sputum or a little white foamy sputum. After secondary infection, the quality of sputum also changes. People with chronic coughs should be alert if they find that the nature of their cough is different from usual. Patients of high-risk age should seek medical attention as soon as possible when the cough is ineffective after treatment or lasts for a long time. Those with hemoptysis should seek medical attention early.

The best time to treat lung cancer is in the early stages of the disease, and the symptoms during this period are not easily taken seriously by us, so when our body shows the symptoms described above, we should go to the hospital for examination in time. Don't blindly think that you don't have a serious illness and there is no need to go to the hospital to waste money. Sometimes a minor illness can easily turn into a major illness, and it will be too late to treat it by the time you want to.