I felt short of breath when wearing a mask and thought the mask was not breathable, but it turned out to be early lung cancer.

Let me share with you a case that happened to Huazi. A friend of Huazi has been frowning recently. When asked what was wrong, he said that his mother-in-law was found to have multiple nodules in her lungs. After being diagnosed in many hospitals, it was confirmed to be early-stage lung cancer. Although the prognosis of early-stage lung cancer is very good, it brings a lot of pressure, and the whole family is in a bad mood.

Huazi comforted him, saying that the cure rate of early lung cancer is very high and he need not worry too much. But Huazi was a little curious. The symptoms of early lung cancer are atypical and usually difficult to be taken seriously. How did his mother-in-law find out?

1. Lung cancer was discovered due to shortness of breath from wearing a mask Huazi's friend said that because of the epidemic, he always needs to wear a mask when going out, and his mother-in-law feels shortness of breath and difficulty breathing when she puts on a mask. At first, he thought it was because the mask was too breathable, but other people in the family did not feel anything special when wearing the same mask. Originally, the old man thought it might be because of his old age and weak lung function, but he persuaded his mother-in-law to go to the hospital for a CT scan, and the result was that early lung cancer was found.

Hua Zi said that this was a blessing in disguise. Thanks to the early detection of lung cancer, the cure rate is very high and there is no need to worry too much. If it is not detected until the middle or late stage, the prognosis will be very poor. Most lung cancer patients cannot be detected in the early stage because the early symptoms of lung cancer are not obvious and are easily ignored. Few people are as vigilant as he is.

2. What are the early symptoms of lung cancer? 1. Cough: Cough is the most common symptom of lung cancer. Most lung cancer patients have cough as the first symptom. It manifests as a dry cough similar to that caused by foreign body stimulation, and it is difficult to control with general cough suppressants. However, if the cancer occurs in the small bronchial mucosa, the cough symptoms will not be very obvious. It is easy for people to mistakenly think that they have a cold and cough, especially smokers, who usually have symptoms of irritating dry coughs, so they ignore it and delay treatment.

2. Blood in sputum: A small number of lung cancer patients will have blood in their sputum, because the tumor has a rich blood supply and is relatively fragile, so it is easy to rupture and bleed when coughing. It manifests as blood in the sputum, and it will continue to appear repeatedly.

3. Chest pain: If the tumor invades the pleura or chest wall, it will cause chest pain, back pain or shoulder pain. About a quarter of lung cancer patients seek medical attention because of chest and back pain. However, at first, it may only cause mild chest discomfort. When it develops into persistent pain, it means that the cancer has invaded a wide range of pleura and chest wall, and it is likely to be in the middle or late stage.

4. Shortness of breath: Common symptoms of central lung cancer are chest tightness and shortness of breath, especially in patients with poor lung function. However, when the symptoms are mild, it is difficult to attract enough attention. Or it may be mistaken for heart failure and the lung examination may be ignored.

5. Hoarseness: If the cancer invades the mediastinum or recurrent laryngeal nerve, it will cause vocal cord paralysis and hoarseness.

6. Systemic symptoms: Cancer can cause systemic symptoms such as fever and weight loss, but the appearance of systemic symptoms usually means that the cancer has developed to the late stage.

3. How to screen for early lung cancer 1. High-risk groups for lung cancer: Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world, and high-risk groups for lung cancer should pay attention to lung cancer screening. People over 50 years old, who have been smoking heavily or inhaling secondhand smoke for a long time, or who have been cooking in the kitchen for a long time, or who have been engaged in coal, oil, chemical and other dust pollution for a long time, or who have been exposed to various chemicals, or who have a family history of malignant tumors, or who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis and other diseases.

2. Lung cancer screening method: Currently, the internationally accepted practice is to use low-dose spiral CT as the main method for lung cancer screening. With one-seventh of the radiation dose of ordinary CT, clear images of the lungs can be obtained, and a more accurate diagnosis can be made. However, low-dose spiral CT has a certain false positive rate, which may cause excessive intervention. Those who are positive in CT screening need to check tumor markers for comprehensive judgment before a diagnosis can be made.

In summary, early diagnosis of lung cancer is very important, so we should pay attention to the early symptoms of lung cancer. But in many cases, the early symptoms of lung cancer are not typical and may be ignored. For people at high risk of lung cancer, regular screening should be carried out to ensure safety. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.