Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, but the condition's symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for a cough or cold.
With around 40,000 cases of lung cancer being diagnosed every year, the condition can be fatal which is why it is important to be aware of its warning signs. In most cases it is easier to treat the sooner it is caught, according to Cancer Research UK.
It comes as a woman has told how she is lucky to be alive after she was diagnosed with the deadly form of cancer.
Karen McCarthy, 60, went to see her GP after suffering from what she believed was a bad chest infection for two weeks.
Karen then discovered that she had lung cancer, and had to receive surgery in which part of her lung was removed as it had a "small, non-aggressive tumour". She thankfully recovered and now urges people to speak to their GP if they are experiencing possible symptoms.
NHS bosses are also urging people with certain symptoms to seek lifesaving checks as part of the new ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign. With that in mind, here are key lung cancer warning signs that you should look out for.
Lung cancer symptoms
Cancer Research UK has warned that lung cancer doesn't always cause symptoms in its early stages and many early warning signs can also be caused by other medical conditions. However, they add that the earlier the condition is caught the easier it is to treat, which is why you should not ignore possible symptoms.
According to the NHS, lung cancer symptoms are as follows:
- a cough that doesn’t go away after 2 or 3 weeks
- a long-standing cough that gets worse
- chest infections that keep coming back
- coughing up blood
- an ache or pain when breathing or coughing
- persistent breathlessness
- persistent tiredness or lack of energy
- loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
Cancer research UK adds that finger clubbing - which is when fingers and nails experience swelling - is another rare lung cancer symptom that you should look out for.
Further symptoms, as highlighted by Scotland's NHS Inform, include a high temperature of 38C or above, difficulty swallowing or pain when swallowing, wheezing, a hoarse voice, swelling of your face or neck or persistent chest or shoulder pain.
Health chiefs urge public to go to GP with symptoms
While most other cancer referrals quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels after the first wave of Covid-19, lung cancer referrals only returned to pre-pandemic levels in May 2022 - coming in at almost 6,000 that month.
Cancer health chiefs are warning the public to go to their GP if they have had a persistent cough for longer than three weeks or notice other symptoms like coughing up blood or persistent breathlessness.
One in every four GP referrals are now for some kind of suspected cancer – with the NHS seeing record numbers of people getting checked for cancer over the last year. More than 5.3 million people were referred between June 2021 and May 2022.
The figures come amid the NHS’ latest campaign, titled ‘Help Us Help You’. The campaign will target the groups of people most at risk including over 60s, as well as people who are often more reluctant to visit their GP practice, which is critical to getting an early diagnosis.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: "We know that the earlier you catch cancer, the better the chances of survival, and the Help Us Help You initiative is empowering people to come forward for screening – particularly for lung cancer, which is the biggest cause of death by cancer in England.
In Scotland, lung cancer was the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women in 2019, according to the Scottish Public Health Observatory. They add that survival from lung cancer is poor with only 9.8 percent of patients still alive at five years after diagnosis.
Dr Michael Gregory of the NHS says: “Early diagnosis saves countless lives every year, so it is important that should you have any symptoms of lung cancer, including a continuous cough or breathlessness, to come forward as soon as possible and speak to the staff at your general practice.
“It’s probably nothing to worry about, but if it is cancer, diagnosing it early could save your life.”
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