It is the cancer with the highest mortality rate in our country! The early symptom is coughing. Pay attention to the following symptoms!

Expert of this article: Wang Qian, attending physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Hebei Provincial Chest Hospital

This article was reviewed by Tao Ning, PhD, Associate Professor at a National Institute

Cancer is a word that scares everyone. In recent years, more and more lives have ended due to cancer. Lung cancer is one of them.

According to statistics, in 2020, 18 out of every 100 new cancer cases in China were lung cancer; and 23 out of every 100 Chinese people who died of cancer were due to lung cancer.

In China, the number of cases and deaths from lung cancer has ranked first among malignant tumors for 10 consecutive years.

According to statistics, about 787,000 new cases of lung cancer occur each year, and about 631,000 people die from lung cancer each year.

One of the main reasons for the high mortality rate of lung cancer is that the early symptoms are atypical, and symptoms of coughing and sputum are not given enough attention, and medical treatment is not sought in time.

The following is a reminder to everyone what kind of cough needs to be taken seriously.

What are the causes of cough?

Cough is a common respiratory symptom caused by inflammation, foreign bodies or physical and chemical factors that stimulate the tracheal mucosa, bronchial mucosa or pleura.

There are many reasons for coughing, the most common of which is cough caused by lung infection.

Cough caused by infection is often accompanied by sputum, which is white and sticky in the early stage, and yellow and sticky in more severe infections.

Post-infectious cough is also a common cause of cough . It occurs after the infection has improved through treatment, and symptoms such as fever, sputum, sore throat, and nasal congestion have completely returned to normal, but coughing still occurs intermittently. This is called post-infectious cough.

Cough variant asthma is also characterized by coughing symptoms. Conventional anti-infection treatment is ineffective and requires diagnosis by visiting the respiratory department for pulmonary function tests. It is essentially a type of asthma .

Secondly, another common cause of cough is upper airway cough syndrome . You may not be familiar with upper airway cough syndrome. The previous name of this disease was postnasal drip syndrome. The main manifestations are cough without sputum, rhinitis, sinusitis, itchy and uncomfortable throat, and postnasal secretions.

In addition, children's repeated coughing should also be alert to foreign objects in the trachea.

Is a chronic cough a sign of lung cancer?

Many people wonder if constant coughing means they have cancer or lung cancer.

Coughing can occur in many situations. Coughing does not necessarily mean lung cancer, but the following special coughs should alert you to lung cancer:

1. Chronic cough for more than 3 months, especially for middle-aged and elderly people who smoke for a long time , and repeated coughing that does not improve after anti-infection and cough symptomatic treatment, must go to the hospital for lung CT examination in time to be alert to malignant lesions in the lungs;

2. Repeated irritating dry cough, it seems that there is always something to stimulate or induce severe dry cough before each cough . This kind of cough needs to be taken seriously and seek medical attention in time;

3. Cough accompanied by hoarseness. Lung cancer is prone to metastasis to the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes . When the enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes compress the recurrent laryngeal nerve, hoarseness is often accompanied, and the hoarseness gradually worsens and is ineffective after drug treatment.

4. Intermittent blood in sputum, sometimes mild and sometimes severe. Hemoptysis in the early stage of lung cancer is different from massive hemoptysis caused by bronchiectasis. In the early stage of lung cancer, cancer cells slowly erode and destroy surrounding blood vessels, resulting in intermittent blood in sputum;

5. Cough accompanied by low fever and weight loss. Cough accompanied by high fever often indicates lung infection . When recurring and irregular low fever occurs, and is accompanied by rapid weight loss in a short period of time, you should be alert to the possibility of lung cancer and seek medical attention in time.

Who is at high risk of lung cancer?

People who are over 50 years old, who smoke for a long time or are exposed to secondhand smoke for a long time, who have a family history of lung cancer , or who have diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema are at high risk of lung cancer.

It is recommended that this group of people undergo regular lung CT examinations every year , and seek medical attention promptly if the above-mentioned cough symptoms that require attention appear.

In recent years, the incidence of lung cancer has shown a significant trend towards younger age, which may be due to mental stress and bad living habits.

The new generation of young people in the 21st century face various life pressures and many bad living habits, such as overeating, high-oil, high-fat and non-nutritious takeout, smoking and drinking, staying up late, and lack of exercise, all of which are related to the younger age of lung cancer.

How to prevent lung cancer?

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, and a good doctor can cure an illness before it occurs. Don't wait until you are diagnosed with lung cancer to regret it.

Quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption in daily life;

Reduce direct contact with polluted air, wear a mask when going out, and reduce contact with oil fumes;

Do proper exercise to improve your physical fitness , keep a happy mood, and learn to vent yourself;

Regular physical examinations can nip lung cancer in the bud, detect it in time, and perform surgery early to minimize damage to the body.

If you have a high-risk cough, you need to seek medical attention immediately

Beware of lung cancer

Of course, there is no need to be overly nervous

Most coughs are not lung cancer

Seek medical attention early

Timely and systematic diagnosis and treatment

Responsible for the body