Lung cancer is often diagnosed after the disease has already progressed. Because of this, only about 14 percent of lung cancer patients have a five-year survival rate. Initial symptoms of lung cancer are vague. People often are not aware they are ill until the late stages of lung cancer begin to show.
Bloody Sputum
Donna D. Ignatavicius, MS RN, and M. Linda Workman, Ph.D, authors of "Medical-Surgical Nursing: Critical Thinking for Collaborative Care," explain that coughing up bloody sputum is a late stage symptom of cancer. This may occur because of bleeding in the lung tissue from a tumor.
Respiratory Distress
During the late stages of lung cancer, breathing can become very labored and painful. A person might not be able to take a deep breath because a tumor is obstructing the airways. A tumor may cause fluid to build up in the lungs, or it may cause lung tissue to bleed. This will lead to respiratory distress, which is characterized by wheezing, coughing and rapid shallow breathing. Accessory muscles, like those in the abdomen and around the chest, then are used to help with breathing. Nasal flaring will be present, and the person will have to sit up or have his head elevated to help with breathing.
Metastases
Metastasis is the spreading of cancer cells throughout the body. Cancer cells can spread through the lymphatic system and blood vessels. In late stage lung cancer, metastases may occur in the bone, liver, brain and adrenal glands. Metastases cause many other symptoms and conditions. The American Cancer Society explains that patients may experience bone pain, swollen lymph nodes, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin), fatigue, weakness and numbness of the extremities, general flu type symptoms and frequent infections, such as pneumonia.
Paraneoplastic Syndromes
Paraneoplastic syndromes are caused by substances released by tumor cells that mimic natural hormones created in the body. The effects of these hormone-like substances are similar to symptoms caused by other disease conditions. Some common problems are elevated blood calcium levels, which cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, confusion, and frequent urination; accelerated growth in certain bones, which can cause pain; alterations in blood levels of sex hormones, which can cause breast growth in men. It is often difficult for physicians to identify the cause of the reported symptoms. Often, paraneoplastic syndromes are the first signs of lung cancer, even though they are a late-stage lung cancer symptom.
References
- "Medical-Surgical Nursing: Critical Thinking for Collaborative Care"; Donna D. Ignatavicius MS RN, & M. Linda Workman Ph.D; 2006
- American Cancer Society: "How is Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Found?"
