"Oh, Sister Wang, what's wrong with you? Aunt Liu looked at her old friend Sister Wang, who was doing Tai Chi in the park, with a pale face, fine beads of sweat oozing from her forehead, and her movements were much slower than usual.
Sister Wang stopped her movements, gasped and replied: "I have always felt chest tightness and panic recently, especially when I sleep at night, sometimes it hurts badly. I've been coughing for almost a month, and I've taken a lot of medicine, but it's not getting better, and I can occasionally cough up blood. ”
When Aunt Liu heard this, her heart tightened. She remembered that at the community health lecture a while ago, the doctor specifically mentioned some early symptoms of cancer that the elderly need to be aware of, including a situation similar to that described by Sister Wang.
Aunt Liu frowned and said, "Sister Wang, your situation sounds really worrying. I remember the doctor saying that these symptoms may be the symptoms of lung cancer in the early stages. ”
The neighbors who were exercising around heard the sound and gathered around and began to discuss. Some shared their own experiences of having loved ones who were diagnosed with lung cancer after ignoring similar symptoms, while others expressed concern and did not know how to recognize the severity of these symptoms.
01. Why is it that many lung cancers are at an advanced stage upon examination?
No specific findings: In the early stages of lung cancer, the number of cancer cells in the body is relatively small, and there may be no significant discomfort or pain.
Early symptoms are often very mild and can be mistaken for the common cold, respiratory infections, fatigue, or natural physiological changes of age, without special attention from patients or doctors.
Insidious symptoms: In particular, lung adenocarcinoma is located in the periphery of the lungs, and the lesions are far away from the trachea, even if nodules are formed, they may not cause obvious symptoms for a long time, making it difficult for patients to detect the presence of lesions in the body in the asymptomatic stage.
Symptom-dependent medical treatment: Many people only choose to seek medical attention when they experience significant discomfort or if their symptoms continue to worsen, and this reactive approach to medical treatment often results in lung cancer reaching an advanced stage by the time symptoms become apparent. Early-stage lung cancer is often silent and difficult to capture with symptom-driven patterns of medical care alone.
Lack of awareness of screening: There is a lack of awareness of the importance of lung cancer screening, especially in high-risk groups, where targeted lung cancer screening programs such as low-dose spiral CT, which can detect small lung nodules or early-stage tumors in the asymptomatic stage, may not be regularly performed.
Biological characteristics of lung cancer: Some types of lung cancer, especially small cell lung cancer, are highly aggressive and rapidly proliferating, and the progression from early to advanced stage may be completed in a relatively short period of time, leaving a relatively short window for early detection and intervention.
Possibility of early metastasis: Some lung cancers may have small metastases at an early stage, and even if the primary lesion is still small, it may have spread to other sites, and by the time symptoms appear, it is actually a systemic disease.
Lack of health education: The public has insufficient knowledge about lung cancer, lacks sensitivity to possible warning signs, and fails to link potential symptoms to lung cancer in a timely manner, delaying the time to seek medical treatment.
Uneven distribution of medical resources: The lack of medical resources and the limited ability to diagnose lung cancer in some areas may lead to the diagnosis of lung cancer after the onset of obvious symptoms, when the disease has often progressed to an advanced stage.
02. "Warning light" for early stage of lung cancer
Chest pain is erratic: the pain may occur behind the breastbone, in the chest walls on both sides, in the back of the shoulders, and even radiating to the abdomen. This location-free pain makes it difficult for patients to associate it with a specific organ disease and can be misinterpreted as a muscle strain, strain, or gastrointestinal problem.
Varied: Pain may take the form of tingling, dull pain, burning pain, tightness, and sometimes chest tightness and breath-holding. This diversity makes it difficult to attribute symptoms simply to a specific cause, making it more difficult to identify.
No obvious trigger or pattern: chest pain may occur at rest or be exacerbated by daily activities such as deep breathing, coughing, and bending over, but often lacks clear triggers related to physical activity, mood changes, or diet, and is persistent or recurrent, as opposed to transient, activity-related chest pain.
Intractable cough: Unlike a short-term cough caused by a cold or allergy, cough caused by lung cancer tends to last longer and does not resolve for weeks or months, even if cough suppressants or other symptomatic treatments do not respond well.
Dry cough: The cough is mostly dry, with no obvious sputum or only a small amount of white foamy sputum, which is obviously different from the wet cough and sticky sputum in respiratory tract infection. As the disease progresses, some patients may develop blood in their sputum or cough up blood-streaked sputum, which is a more obvious red flag.
Lack of obvious triggers: Cough often has no obvious triggers such as seasonality, environmental changes, or exposure to allergens, making it easy for patients and doctors to ignore the possibility of lung cancer when looking for the cause of cough.
Lymph node abnormalities: When lung cancer cells metastasize, these nearby lymph nodes often affect the lungs first, causing them to enlarge painlessly. Enlarged lymph nodes are hard, well-defined, and have reduced mobility, making them difficult to glide to the touch.
No obvious inflammatory manifestations: Unlike lymphadenopathy caused by infection, lymphadenopathy caused by lung cancer metastasis is usually not accompanied by acute inflammatory reactions such as redness, swelling, heat and pain, and the appearance is relatively normal, which does not cause obvious discomfort to patients, so it is easy to be ignored.
Gradually enlarged: Enlarged lymph nodes may enlarge slowly over weeks or months and may be noticed by the patient inadvertently or while bathing or dressing. This subtle growth often leads to a large volume when it is detected, suggesting that the tumor may have progressed over a longer period of time.
03. How to prevent it in your life
Active smoking cessation: Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, and long-term smokers have a significantly increased risk of lung cancer. Active smoking cessation is the most direct and effective measure to prevent lung cancer.
Avoid secondhand smoke: Try to avoid staying in smoking environments, especially at home, in the office, and in public places. Encourage family, colleagues and friends to quit smoking and work together to create a smoke-free environment.
Indoor air: Keep the home environment clean, open windows regularly for ventilation, and reduce indoor pollution sources, such as formaldehyde and other harmful gases released by decoration materials and furniture. Use a high-efficiency air purifier, especially when air pollution is high.
Eat a balanced diet: Increase your intake of fresh vegetables, fruits, and foods rich in antioxidants to help fight free radical damage and reduce the risk of cancer. Limit high-fat, high-calorie foods and avoid obesity, which has been linked to several types of cancer.
High-risk groups: Long-term smokers, people with a family history of lung cancer, long-term exposure to carcinogens, and people with lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or tuberculosis should be screened for lung cancer by low-dose spiral CT regularly, and it is generally recommended that it be done once a year.
Preventing lung cancer is not only an individual responsibility, but also a common mission of the whole society. We need to work together to build a smoke-free environment, raise public awareness of the early symptoms of lung cancer, encourage high-risk groups to receive regular screening, and ensure a fair and reasonable distribution of medical resources, so that more people can be detected and effectively treated in a timely manner.
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