ade worse by deep breathing Hoarseness Weight loss and loss of appetite Bloody or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm) Shortness of breath Fever without a known reason Recurring infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia New onset of wheezing When lung cancer spreads to distant organs, it may cause: Bone pain Weakness or numbness of the arms or legs, dizziness Yellow coloring of the skin and eyes (jaundice) Masses near the surface of the body, caused by cancer spreading to the skin or to lymph nodes in the neck or above the collarbone Less often, there are some other clusters of symptoms (called syndromes) that can point to a possible lung cancer. Lately, some new tests to find lung cancer early have been developed. These tests are still being studied and are not yet used on a regular basis. If there is a reason to suspect you may have lung cancer, the doctor will use one or more methods to find out if the disease is really present. In addition, a biopsy of the lung tissue will confirm the diagnosis of cancer and also give valuable information that will help in making treatment decisions. If these tests find lung cancer, more tests will be done to find out how far the cancer has spread. After taking your medical history and doing a physical exam the doctor might want to do some of the following: Imaging tests: these tests use x- rays, magnetic fields, sound waves or radioactive substances to create pictures of the inside of the body. Some of the imaging tests used to find lung cancer and to see where in the body it may have spread include x-rays, CT scan (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), PET (positron emission tomography) scans, and bone scans. Sputum cytology: a sample of phlegm (spit) is looked at under a microscope to see if cancer cells are present. Needle biopsy: a needle is placed into the tumor to remove a piece of tissue. The tissue is looked at in the lab to see if cancer cells are present. Bronchoscopy:...
