Symptoms:

Early lung cancer may not cause any symptoms. Many times, lung cancer is found when an x-ray is done for another reason.

Symptoms depend on the specific type of cancer you have, but may include:

• Cough that doesn't go away
• Coughing up blood
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Chest pain
• Loss of appetite
• Losing weight without trying
• Fatigue

Additional symptoms that may also occur with lung cancer, often in the late stages:

• Weakness
• Swallowing difficulty
• Nail problems
• Joint pain
• Hoarseness or changing voice
• Shoulder pain
• Swelling of the face or arms
• Facial paralysis
• Eyelid drooping
• Bone pain or tenderness

These symptoms can also be due to other, less serious conditions, so it is important to talk to your health care provider.

For more information, see:

• Small cell lung cancer
• Non-small cell lung cancer

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history. You will be asked if you smoke, and if so, how long you have smoked.

When listening to the chest with a stethoscope, the health care provider can sometimes hear fluid around the lungs, which could (but doesn't always) suggest cancer.

Tests that may be performed include:

• Chest x-ray
• Sputum cytology test to look for cancer cells
• Blood work
• CT scan of the chest
• MRI of the chest
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

To confirm lung cancer, the health care provider needs to remove a piece of tissue from your lungs for examination under a microscope. This is called a biopsy. There are several ways to do this:

• Bronchoscopy combined with biopsy
• Pleural biopsy
• CT-scan-directed needle biopsy
• Mediastinoscopy with biopsy
• Open lung biopsy
• Endoscopic esophageal ultrasound (EUS) with biopsy

For more information, see:

• Small cell lung cancer
• Non-small cell lung cancer