Potential Indicators of Lung Cancer: Recognizing Early Signs is Key

7. Bone Pain

Cancer spreads throughout the body when a localized area is not treated. In many cases, cancer can spread to bones, producing significant pain. Lung cancer would be the primary cancer, but once it spreads to the bones, it is considered a form of secondary cancer. Many patients complain the pain is at its worst at night, as they lay on their back. Although less common, there may be pain within the arms and neck as well. As the bone breaks down, pain will occur. Although a bone scan may be required, a blood test may also be administered in order to check the patient's calcium levels.

8. Coughing Up Blood Or Rusty Sputum

Many individuals who are affected by lung cancer often experience coughing up blood or rusty sputum as a symptom of their disease. The medical term used to describe coughing up blood from the respiratory tract is hemoptysis. Coughing up blood is a different symptom than when a patient bleeds from the throat, mouth, or gastrointestinal tract. Because the blood is mixed with air and mucus from the patient's lungs, it often comes out with a bubbly appearance. In most patients with this symptom, their blood will be bright red, but in some other cases, it may have more of a rusty coloring. Sometimes, the patient will cough up mucus that only has streaks of blood in it. In advanced cases of lung cancer where the malignancy has spread throughout a considerable part of the lungs, the affected individual may start coughing up actual blood clots instead of just bloody mucus. Lung cancer causes necrosis or scarring of the pulmonary tissues, which causes the lungs to bleed from outgrowing the blood supply for the tissues.