PT Health Life – Lung cancer is a disease with a high risk of death and has increased in recent years. However, lung cancer is curable if detected and treated properly at an early stage.
Therefore, early detection of lung cancer in its early stages is extremely important.
1. Early symptoms of early stage lung cancer
1.1. Prolonged cough
The most common symptom of lung cancer is a prolonged cough, but many people subjectively think that cough is due to sore throat. In fact, about 50-70% of lung cancer cases have symptoms of cough and most patients cannot be cured with conventional treatments.
However, cough is a very non-specific symptom and can also be due to many different causes, including cough due to allergies , asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), acute bronchitis , exposure to dust and chemicals… Therefore, if the cough lasts for a long time, the cause is unknown and medicine does not help, you need to go to a medical facility for examination.
1.2. Difficulty breathing, hoarseness
With early stage lung cancer, patients often have difficulty breathing, wheezing, their voice also changes and becomes hoarse… However, many people think that they are overworked, or have sore throats or the flu. should lead to this situation. In fact, the above symptoms may be symptoms of a tumor growing in the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing.
1.3. People feel tired and have muscle pain
Common symptoms that make many people subjective are easy fatigue and muscle aches. With everyday symptoms, many people think that they are related to heavy work, lots of traveling, stress… so it is easy to ignore. While these manifestations are very likely to cause serious diseases, including lung cancer. The main reason is that substances produced by cancer cells will directly affect the process of oxygen exchange, blood production and control of the body’s energy defense process.
1.4. Unexplained weight loss and frequent infections
Sudden unexplained weight loss that is not related to cutting calories or exercising is most likely due to a dangerous illness, including lung cancer. Frequent infections can signal cancer because the infection affects the respiratory tract, leading to conditions such as bronchitis or some other infection that recurs continuously.
In addition, patients also have less common signs of early stage lung cancer such as: Feeling difficulty swallowing; Change in color shape of fingers and nails; Slightly pale skin; Blockage of blood vessels in the facial area.
In a slightly later stage, lung cancer may include: Hoarseness accompanied by difficulty swallowing, painful swallowing, prolonged and continuous choking; Facial edema gradually increases, accompanied by headache, dizziness, and facial purpleness; Patients often feel nervous, have palpitations, and have a fast heartbeat.
However, most patients with early stage lung cancer do not have any symptoms. Therefore, you need to see a doctor for early detection and screening of lung cancer if you or a family member has one or more of the above symptoms.
2. Classification of lung cancer
Staging lung cancer helps determine appropriate cancer treatment and disease prognosis.
Lung cancer is mostly non-small cell lung cancer divided into 4 stages:
+ Stage I: The tumor is not large and has not metastasized.
+ Stage II: Tumor size is not large or relatively large combined with metastasis to 1 lymph node of the bronchus – lungs.
+ Stage III: The tumor has metastasized beyond the limits of the lung or the tumor is accompanied by multiple metastases to peripheral lymph nodes.
+ Stage IV: The tumor has spread to nearby organs and is extensively locally infected, or has metastasized to distant places.
3. Accurate diagnosis of lung cancer?
After a clinical examination, doctors will assign the patient some diagnostic tests to determine whether or not the cancer is cancerous, what stage it is in, and from there come up with an appropriate treatment regimen.
Commonly applied diagnostic methods are: Chest X-ray is often used to diagnose lung cancer. On chest x-rays, abnormal opacities in the lungs can often be detected. Next is a CT scan to diagnose lung cancer and is especially valuable in staging mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes.
In addition, there are bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy… to diagnose lung cancer. Nowadays, testing for markers to diagnose and prescribe treatment can be done by taking blood for testing. Direct tumor testing often has many advantages over indirect testing through blood sampling, but blood sampling is always easier and has some unique advantages.
Summary: Lung cancer, if detected early and treated properly, a high percentage of lung cancer patients in the early stages can be cured. However, no matter what stage the cancer is in, the patient should not give up hope.
Besides surgery, in the case of lung cancer at a later stage, doctors often combine multiple treatment methods. Systemic treatments such as targeted therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy can shrink and down-stage the tumor. Then local treatment tools such as surgery and radiotherapy can be used in combination to best control the tumor.
