Signs of lung cancer

Every year in our country there are about 25 thousand new cases of lung cancer, second only to liver cancer.

Chest X-ray to check the health of patients with risk factors at Thuan My ITO Dong Nai Hospital. Photo: Hanh Dung

One notable issue is that about 75% of patients are detected at a late stage, causing the 5-year survival rate to only reach about 14.8%.

4 stages of lung cancer

4 years ago, Mr. NTG (68 years old, residing in Trang Dai ward, Dong Nai province) was diagnosed with lung cancer after a general health check. Mr. G. shared: He has smoked since he was 16 years old. Before being diagnosed with the disease, Mr. G. had a persistent cough, sometimes coughing up blood, and taking medicine did not help. His son took him to the hospital for a general health check, and the doctor said that Mr. G. had lung cancer and needed surgery and radiation therapy. Since then, Mr. G. has quit smoking, gone for health check-ups and taken medicine as prescribed by the doctor.

A few days ago, Mr. PHN (46 years old, residing in Tam Phuoc ward, Dong Nai province) felt pain in his abdomen and right rib so he went to a private clinic for a check-up.

Specialist Doctor I Pham Van Thuan, Director of Tam Phuoc General Clinic (An Phuoc Commune, Dong Nai Province) carefully studied the patient's disease progression. According to the patient, a few days before going to the clinic, he began to have unusual symptoms such as abdominal pain, dull pain in the back accompanied by a feeling of slight pain in the right flank. The pain was not related to movement or breathing, but tended to increase gradually.

Dr. Thuan ordered a computed tomography (CT) scan of the patient's chest and abdomen. The results showed a tumor in the lower lobe of the right lung, measuring 2.5cm x 3.5cm, suspected to be a lung tumor. The doctor advised Mr. N. to go to a specialized hospital for further examination and necessary tests to accurately diagnose the disease and have early treatment.

At Dong Nai General Hospital, on average, 20-30 patients with lung tumors are admitted each month. Notably, most of them are admitted late, past the point of definitive surgery.

According to Dr. Vo Tuan Anh, Head of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Dong Nai General Hospital, depending on the level of invasion, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis, lung cancer is divided into 4 main stages from 1 to 4. In which, patients detected from stage 1 to 3A can undergo radical surgery, prolonging the 5-year survival time with the rate of 54% (stage 1), 35% (stage 2) and 15% in stage 3 respectively. Cancer from stage 3B to stage 4 is no longer capable of radical surgery and the patient's 5-year survival prognosis is gradually lower.

People with the following factors should be screened for lung cancer: age 50-80, smoking the equivalent of at least 1 pack/day for 20 years, still smoking or quit within 15 years.

Symptoms and risk factors

Explaining why most lung cancer patients are diagnosed with the disease at a late stage, Dr. Pham Van Thuan said: Lung cancer does not have any obvious symptoms. Therefore, when experiencing the following symptoms, people need to quickly go to a medical facility for early examination. These are: dry cough, coughing up blood, prolonged cough that does not respond to cough suppressants; difficulty breathing, feeling short of breath, chest heaviness, rapid breathing or having to exert themselves with light exercise; pain in the chest, back or shoulder; prolonged headache. The pain is persistent, dull, and increases when coughing or breathing deeply.

In addition, people need to be careful when showing signs of fatigue, loss of appetite, and rapid weight loss for unknown reasons.

There are many risk factors that lead to lung cancer. Among them, people who regularly smoke or inhale cigarette smoke are at high risk of lung cancer. In addition, if there is someone in the family with lung cancer or living or working regularly in a polluted environment, fine dust... also increases the risk of lung cancer.

To avoid missing the disease, doctors recommend that people should have regular health check-ups to detect the disease early if any. When there are suspicious symptoms such as coughing up blood, persistent cough that does not respond to cough suppressants, you should immediately go to a reputable medical facility for examination. Early detection of the disease helps increase the effectiveness of treatment, improve the quality of life, and prolong the life of the patient.

To prevent lung cancer, people should immediately quit smoking cigarettes and tobacco if they are smoking; pay attention to their living and working environment; have a suitable and healthy diet, lifestyle and exercise regimen.

Hanh Dung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202509/dau-hieu-nhan-biet-benh-ung-thu-phoi-92615e2/