An expert has outlined the red-flag symptoms of a vicious silent killer that kills 34,000 people in the UK each year. Worryingly, more than half of people diagnosed with lung cancer die within one year of diagnosis, even with treatment, according to medical negligence solicitor Kim Jackson, from Patient Claim Line.
The sooner lung cancer is detected, the greater the chances for survival are, making symptom awareness front and centre.
While some of the key signs of lung cancer can appear in your cough, these aren’t the only symptoms you can experience.
Jackson said: “From our detailed analysis of clinical negligence cases, red flag symptoms of lung cancer can include a persistent cough that deteriorates, coughing up blood and chest pain that is worse with deep breathing, coughing or laughing.
“A loss of appetite, weight loss that cannot be explained and fatigue can also be key signs of lung cancer. Watch out for hoarseness, breathlessness, a new onset of wheezing and infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that are persistent.”
Once you spot these warning signs, you should speak to your GP. Jackson said: “If you visit your GP with symptoms suggestive of lung cancer, they should examine you and ask you to breathe into a device called a spirometer, which measures how much air you breathe in and out.
“A blood test might be requested to rule out some of the possible causes of your symptoms. The main test to diagnose lung cancer is a chest X-ray. A CT scan will also be advised as well as a PET-CT scan.”
The expert warned that smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, with around 70 percent of cases related to the unhealthy habit.
Jackson explained that smoking causes lung cancer by damaging the lining of your lungs. She said: “Cigarette smoke contains carcinogens, which changes the lung tissue.
“Over time, the damage that is being caused to the lung tissue causes cells to act abnormally and this is when cancer develops.”
Jackson added that patients who experienced delayed diagnosis could file a claim. She said: “A person has three years from their date of knowledge to bring a claim before the court.
“In order to establish negligence, a person must prove that there has been a breach of duty of care and as a result, causation has arisen i.e. a person has suffered injury as a direct result of negligence.
“It can be difficult to be successful in a claim for negligence in cancer cases, particularly when proving causation. It might be that, whilst there has been a delay in diagnosing cancer, the outcome might not have been any different in any event.”