Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in the world. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, approximately one out of every 14 men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer at some point in their lifetime. In the U.S.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, among both men and women. Lung cancer claims more lives each year than do colon, prostate, ovarian and breast cancers combined.
There are 7 warning signs of lung cancer that we can watch out for:
1. Persistent cough
A cold, accompanied by cough, nothing is rare. Therefore, it is important first of all to try to cure the cough. Most infectious respiratory diseases better within a week. However, if the cough more than 2 weeks pause, without that adjusts an improvement, a doctor's visit is strongly recommended, especially if this is accompanied by bloody sputum.
2. Shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is a common symptom of patients with lung cancer. In most cases is caused by two possible things: the first is there is probably a fluid accumulated in your chest as a result of a lung tumor and the second is there is narrowing (blockage) of the airways.
So, if during some daily actions you feel shortness of breath, and you did not feel like it before, such as bringing groceries, climbing up stairs or some other actions, then it is strongly recommended to visit your doctor.
3. Pain in the chest, back and / or shoulder
Chest pain that becomes worse with deep breathing, laughing or coughing occurs in about of patients with lung cancer, and the pain may radiate to the patient’s back or shoulders.
But remember that chest, back, or shoulder pain are not always caused by cancer, so it’s still best to have these symptoms checked by a doctor to find out the cause of the pain.
4. Whistling sound when breathing
A whistling sound when breathing means that the air is trying to pass through narrow airways. This doesn’t necessarily mean lung cancer as it could also be caused by another respiratory disease such as asthma. Nevertheless, this sound could be something serious and you should get it checked out by a medical practitioner.
5. Unexplainable weight loss
Approximately 15% of all cancer patients have already lost a drastic amount of weight before being diagnosed with cancer. The average person loses over 10% of their body weight before diagnosis. This is mainly because cancer directly influences the metabolism. Turn to your doctor if you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time due to a persistent lack of appetite.
6. Aching bones
The bones begin to ache when the cancer has already spread metastases to the bone. Especially if the pain of the spine, the ribs, hips or thighs starts, you should see a doctor.
7. Headaches
Headaches can often occur as a result of lung cancer. When the cancer cells metastasize in the brain, they put pressure on the blood vessels.
These metastases decrease the blood flow through the arteries to the brain and therefore cause a pounding headache. If you often suffer from strong headaches, it doesn’t mean that it’s definitely because of cancer. It could also be a migraine. But if the headaches become more frequent and worse a visit to the doctor is unavoidable.
Of course, one doesn’t instantly have cancer if one has one or more of these symptoms. It is, however, important to listen to your body’s signals and, whenever in doubt, to consult an expert. Share this post with all of your friends. The sooner cancer is spotted, the greater the chance of beating the insidious disease!
Source: healthiswealthofheart
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