Only Fools And Horses star Patrick Murray has announced that he is ‘cured’ of lung cancer.
He also said that a tumour found in his liver had shrunk.
After scans, 65-year-old Murray found that he had cancer growing in his lungs, although it was in its early stages.
Further scans also picked up the liver tumour, which he was told is treatable.
In order to tackle the terrifying condition, he underwent both chemotherapy and surgery, receiving transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (Tace), which restricts blood supply to the tumour.
Taking to Twitter, Patrick said: “After an op in Oct to remove the tumour I had chemo to help prevent cancer returning. During this chemo, another tumour was discovered in my liver.
“Luckily for me this cancer was unconnected to the lung cancer and was also treatable. I had a procedure called Tace to deal with this.
“Last Friday l saw my oncologist. She told me the lung cancer was cured and that the tumour in my liver was shrinking.”
In order to have the best chances fo fighting and beating cancer, it is vital it gets caught early - but what common warning signs are out there that we should all get familiar with?
Early lung cancer symptom
One common symptom of lung cancer that is easy to spot is a cough that won’t go away.
The American Cancer Society highlight that it might keep getting worse while Johns Hopkins Medicine adds that the cough might be described as ‘chronic’, specifying that it lasts for eight weeks.
The NHS, however, is more cautious, saying a common symptom of the disease is “a cough that doesn’t go away after two or three weeks” or a “long-standing cough that gets worse”.
It is important to note that this symptom could also be an indication of different conditions, including those much less worrying than cancer.
All common lung cancer symptoms
As well as symptoms surrounding coughing, there are a number of other symptoms that can come into play for people suffering from the condition.
The American Cancer Society point to the following symptoms of common among people with lunger cancer:
- Coughing up blood or rust-coloured 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
The health organisation also adds that if the cancer spreads then other symptoms may begin to emerge.
They include:
- Bone pain (like pain in the back or hips)
- Nervous system changes from cancer spread to the brain - this includes thing like headaches and, balance problems and symptoms
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), from cancer spread to the liver
- Swelling of lymph nodes (collection of immune system cells) such as those in the neck or above the collarbone.
