10 Little-Known Signs of Lung Cancer

By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com

In early July, Danish researchers published a new study, showing many cases in which cancer patients, particularly those with lung cancer–discovered they had a tumor after being referred for psychiatric care. The study, published in the June 25th issue of the International Journal of Cancer, got almost no attention. But it was actually an important finding because it gives us a new way to look at one of the hot issues in cancer treatment right now, which is the problem of lung cancer going undiagnosed until it’s well advanced and nearly impossible to cure.

The study, which followed 4,320,623 people in Denmark for ten years, showed that when people ages 50 to 64 were referred to a psychiatrist for the first time in their lives, the reason often turned out to be an undetected malignancy.

“Our study illustrates the importance of making a thorough physical examination of patients with first-time psychiatric symptoms,” lead author Michael E. Benros, MD, was quoted as saying. According to Benros, the overall cancer incidence was highest in those over 50 years of age admitted with a first-time mood disorder–one out of 54 patients turned out to have a malignant cancer diagnosed within the first year. Among those 50 to 64, the overall incidence of cancer was increased almost four fold, and the incidence of brain tumors was increased 37 times.

One of the most common–and saddest stories–I hear is from those with non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most common kind and often isn’t diagnosed until it’s Stage 3 or 4. A common site for this type of lung cancer to metastasize, or spread, is to the brain.

Next: What other early signs should you watch for to try to catch lung cancer as early as possible?

10 Little-Known Signs of Lung Cancer originally appeared on Caring.com.

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Read more: Caregiving, COPD, General Health, Health, depression, lung cancer, mood, symptoms

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Darla G.

1:01PM PDT on Oct 11, 2011

interesting

send a green star

Betty C.

8:31PM PDT on Oct 8, 2011

Thanks for the further education. Please keep informing us, as like Oprah , I do befieve knowledge is power.

Carol B.

7:29PM PDT on Sep 17, 2011

Very informative. Thanks

Lika S.

12:39AM PDT on Sep 11, 2011

Scary, and please keep spreading this info.

Sheri P.

9:56PM PDT on Sep 5, 2011

Hadn't heard of some of those symptoms being related to lung cancer...thanks for the info.

Rita W.

10:40AM PDT on Sep 4, 2011

very informative, I will pass along this information

Sue H.

9:46AM PDT on Sep 4, 2011

good to know

Santanita G.

9:20AM PDT on Sep 4, 2011

Thank you

mariana c.

12:34PM PDT on Sep 3, 2011

Thanks for the info

Maureen L.

7:39AM PDT on Sep 3, 2011

Pat Hippert--I can surely identify with you. I smoked for 31 years--a pack to a pack-and-a-half a day--and had a terrible cough. I stopped smoking in March of 1987, and my cough disappeared. In January 2003 I had a terrible automobile accident. When they took the xrays, they found a shadow on my lung. They thought this was a bruise from the accident, but it turned out to be lung cancer. It was still in an early stage, and I had my surgery in September 2003. I have now been cancer free for eight years.

I was short of breath a lot of the time, and I have since been diagnosed with a mild case of COPD. I blame all of this on the fact that I smoked for so long.