Serious Warning Signs And Symptoms Of Lung Cancer

Chronic Coughing

As alluded to earlier, chronic coughing in an individual may be an indication they have lung cancer. Coughing is a natural mechanism the body uses to protect itself. It is an action that assists the lungs with clearing out harmful or foreign objects, germs, and pathogens. While it makes sense for a cough to stick around when recovering from the flu or cold, lung cancer can cause a cough to persist in the absence of viral or bacterial illness. Chronic cough is the medical term used to describe a cough that is ongoing for a minimum of eight consecutive weeks. The lung cancer cough can happen during the day or at night, and it may occur in short or prolonged episodes. Some individuals with the lung cancer cough report it interfered with their sleep at night. The chronic cough that occurs in lung cancer patients may be productive or non-productive. There is no definitive way to distinguish a cough caused by lung cancer from a cough with a different cause. The suspicion of lung cancer arises in the presence of other symptoms occurring with the cough such as shortness of breath, chest pain, hoarseness, respiratory infections, unexplained weight loss, and spontaneous cessation of smoking.

Learn about another symptom of lung cancer linked to coughing now.