It’s important to report any unusual physical feelings to your doctor. Often, these unusual feelings can be attributed to other causes, such as bronchitis. But a doctor should check anything that is unusual or worrisome. The signs and symptoms of lung cancer can take years to develop and they may not appear until the disease is advanced.

Symptoms of lung cancer that are in the chest:

• Coughing, especially if it persists or becomes intense
• Pain in the chest, shoulder, or back unrelated to pain from coughing
• A change in color or volume of sputum
• Shortness of breath
• Changes in the voice or being hoarse
• Harsh sounds with each breath (stridor)
• Recurrent lung problems, such as bronchitis or pneumonia
• Coughing up phlegm or mucus, especially if it is tinged with blood
• Coughing up blood

If the original lung cancer has spread, a person may feel symptoms in other places in the body. Common places for lung cancer to spread include other parts of the lungs, lymph nodes, bones, brain, liver, and adrenal glands.

Symptoms of lung cancer that may occur elsewhere in the body:

• Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
• Muscle wasting (also known as cachexia)
• Fatigue
• Headaches, bone or joint pain
• Bone fractures not related to accidental injury
• Neurological symptoms, such as unsteady gait or memory loss
• Neck or facial swelling
• General weakness
• Bleeding
• Blood clots