According to cancer.org, most lung cancers do not cause any symptoms until they have spread, but some people with early lung cancer do have symptoms. If you go to your doctor when you first notice symptoms, your cancer might be diagnosed at an earlier stage, when treatment is more likely to be effective.
Dusty Donaldson is a lung cancer survivor and she has shared her story about her treatment and symptoms. She says that she had a swollen gland in her neck. It felt like tenderness in her neck and it kept going away and coming back for around ten months. She certainly didn’t equate it with lung cancer at the time. During her annual physical, her doctor didn’t detect it.
A few weeks later, the gland was swollen again. So Dusty went back to her doctor. That’s when he ordered an imaging study. The imaging was for her neck, but a part of her lung showed up in the imaging. There was scarring in the lung and the doctor thought that the swollen gland, along with a persistent tickle in her throat, may have been a result of inflammation radiating from her lung that looked like pneumonia.
Donaldson’s doctor urged her to do a follow-up scan in a few weeks and that detected a potential neoplasm, an abnormal mass of cells. Surprisingly when she went to see a pulmonologist, he thought that the mass was just scar tissue. He told her to either come back in a year and have another scan or have a biopsy. She opted for the biopsy and the biopsy detected stage 1 lung cancer.
Dusty had a relatively large tumor which was removed as well as two-thirds of her right lung. She also had chemotherapy. Today she is cancer-free and she has a non-profit organization called The Dusty Joy Foundation. The organization provides patient services for the lung cancer community and raises public awareness about lung cancer, including early detection, the need for compassion, and new hope surrounding treatment breakthroughs. For more information visit livelung.org
Remember – lung cancer is not just for smokers. Many people who have never smoked are susceptible, and Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. If you feel that you have any symptoms, see a doctor right away.
The most common symptoms of lung cancer are:
- A cough that does not go away or gets worse
- Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm)
- Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing, or laughing
- Hoarseness
- Loss of appetite
- Unexplained weight loss
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or weak
- Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that don’t go away or keep coming back
- New onset of wheezing
Read about Radon and its link to cancer
That’s good info. I used to think lung cancer was just for smokers.