Symptoms and diagnosis of lung cancer
Symptoms
The symptoms of lung cancer may include any of the following:
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Difficulty breathing
A cough that doesn't go away or a change in a long-term cough
Repeated chest infections that won't go away even after antibiotics
Wheezing
Feeling more tired than usual
A hoarse voice
Coughing up blood-stained phlegm
Pain in your chest, especially when you cough or breathe in
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Swelling around your face and neck
Difficulty swallowing
If you have any of the above symptoms, you must have them checked out by your doctor. But remember
they can occur in many conditions other than cancer.
Screening
Testing for lung cancer when you have no symptoms is called screening. There is no national lung cancer
screening programme in Ireland at present. However there are several studies being carried out
worldwide to decide whether or not lung cancer screening would be of benefit.
Diagnosis
First visit your family doctor (GP) if you are worried about any symptoms. If your doctor has concerns
about you, he or she will refer you for a chest x-ray. An x-ray of your chest can give your doctor a good
idea if there is anything abnormal about your lungs and help them decide whether or not you need to be
referred to a rapid access lung clinic.
There are eight rapid access lung clinics in Ireland: St. James' Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, St. Vincents'
Hospital, The Mater, Waterford Regional Hospital, Cork University Hospital, Limerick Regional Hospital
and University Hospital Galway.
There you will see a specialist who may arrange more tests. You may need some of the following tests:
Breathing tests (lung function tests): These tests can check how well your lungs work.
Special tests
Bronchoscopy: This test uses a small tube with a camera at one end. It is passed down your airway
through either your nose or your mouth. Your doctor then passes the tube right down through your
airways and into your lungs. Here photos and samples from the lung tissue can be taken.
Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS): An EBUS is a special type of bronchoscopy that uses an ultrasound
scan to take pictures inside and outside the lungs.
Lung biopsy: During a bronchoscopy, EBUS or CT scan, your doctor can take small amounts of tissue
samples from your lung. These are called biopsies. Biopsies are sent to a laboratory and looked at under
a microscope.
Mediastinoscopy: In this test your doctor looks into the central part of your chest at the lymph glands.
This is to check if the disease has spread. It uses a small tube with a camera like in a bronchoscopy.
Your doctor will first make a small cut at the base of your neck and put the tube in. Samples (biopsies) of
this tissue can also be taken.
Other tests
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CT scan
PET scan
MRI scan
Ultrasound
Isotope bone scan
Blood tests
Staging of Lung Cancer
The stage of cancer describes the size of your cancer and whether it has spread from its original area to
other areas in the body. Knowing the stage of your cancer will help your doctor to decide on the best
treatment for your cancer.
Your doctor will stage your lung cancer using the TNM staging system. TNM refers to the size of the
tumour (T), whether it has spread to your lymph nodes (N) and whether it has spread to other parts of
your body as metastases (M). It is a complex system but it can be roughly described as the following:
Stage 1: The cancer is small and in one lung only.
Stage 2 or 3: The cancer is larger; it may have grown into surrounding tissue or nearby lymph nodes.
Stage 4: The cancer has spread to other parts of your body. This can also be called advanced cancer.
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Call our National Cancer Helpline
Freephone 1800 200 700 to talk to a specialist cancer nurse.
It's open Monday-Thursday from 9am to 7pm and Friday from 9am to 5pm
http://www.cancer.ie/cancer-information/lung-cancer/symptoms-and-diagnosis
Accessed – 23/09/2013