A patient with lung cancer may present with a sign or symptom of the underlying tumor. Some patients may be asymptomatic and present only after a lung mass has been found incidentally on a chest imaging study.
Common complaints at presentation:
(1) chronic cough
(2) unexplained weight loss, especially with loss of appetite
(3) dyspnea
Less common complaints:
(1) chest pain
(2) hemoptysis
(3) bone pain
(4) clubbing of the fingers
(5) fever
Infrequent complaints:
(1) weakness and/or easy fatigue
(2) superior vena cava obstruction
(3) dysphagia
(4) wheezing and stridor
(5) an enlarged lymph node
(6) headache or seizure
(7) other lesion that could be a metastasis
The significance of any of these findings is greater if they occur in a patient with a history of smoking, radon exposure or other risk factor for lung cancer.
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