Cancer specialists identify two main types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer, or SCLC, and non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. While each of these could be divided into four separate, increasingly serious stages, only the non-small cell type is usually defined by these four stages. The small cell type is considered to be such an aggressive cancer that oncologists generally only include two stages: limited and extensive. Late stage NSCLC lung cancer spreads to many parts of the body, including the lymph nodes and liver. But some of the most common symptoms can be found in the brain, the spaces surrounding the lungs and the bones.
Extensive Stage of SCLC Symptoms
About 15 percent of lung cancers are of the small cell variety, according to 2009 information from the National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus website. Because they grow so quickly, they are rarely found until they have already reached the extensive, or final, stage. Some common symptoms include weakness, coughing up bloody phlegm, chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of appetite and losing weight. Medline Plus also lists fever, hoarseness and having trouble swallowing as possible symptoms. These symptoms are common to many different health conditions, but a medical checkup is called for if they persist.
General NSCLC Symptoms
While not as aggressive, the non-small cell variety of lung cancer, like the SCLC, is usually only discovered in the later stages and often only because a person seeks medical advice for pneumonia or other health issues. Besides the frequency of pneumonia and other infectious diseases, symptoms for NSCLC include persistent chest pain, bloody sputum, hoarseness, and loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss, much as for SCLC, according to the National Cancer Institute.
NSCLC Brain Symptoms
UpToDate.com states that the brain, lungs and bones are common places for lung cancer to metastasize, or spread. When lung cancer cells spread to the brain, some common complaints are weakness, headache---especially in the morning---and possibly seizures. Some people also complain about having difficulty organizing their thoughts.
NSCLC Pleural Symptoms
If the lung cancer cells spread to the thin sac that surrounds the lungs, called the pleura, the space between the lungs and the sac can fill with fluid. This is called pleural effusion. When this happens, the pressure from the fluid makes it very difficult for the lungs to expand, so breathing is more labored, which people often experience as wheezing or shortness of breath.
NSCLC Bone Symptoms
Lung cancer cells that metastasize to the bones may cause the most painful late stage cancer symptoms. The most common bones affected by lung cancer, according to bonetumor.org, are the spine, ribs, pelvis and some long bones such as the thigh bone. Lung cancer is also unusual among cancers in that it can spread to bones in the hands and feet. Because lung cancer is rarely diagnosed in its early stages, people who have metastatic lung cancer in their bones may just think they have a muscle strain. It may take some time before the cancer is discovered, and in the meantime, these people may only receive treatment for their ever-increasing pain, thus masking the ongoing damage to the affected bones. Sometimes, the cancer causes a thickening of the bone, which can be seen as clubbing of the fingers. Occasionally, a bone with metastatic disease will break spontaneously.
