Lung Cancer Signs Symptoms

My Weekly’s favourite GP Dr Sarah Jarvis from TV and radio writes for you

- Dr Sarah Jarvis

Most people think of lung cancer as a condition that only affects smokers. In fact, for about 1 in 10 people who develop this cancer, smoking is not to blame, although it does greatly increase your risk. So everyone needs to be aware of the warning signs, and to seek medical advice if they get them. As with other cancers, your chance of successful treatment is higher if you get treatment at an early stage, before it spreads.

Lung cancer is one of the commonest in the UK. Almost 40,000 people a year are diagnosed with it, and 4 in 5 of them are over 60. However, it can affect younger people - especially those who've smoked from a young age.

Smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer - a heavy (25-a-day) smoker is 25 times more likely to be diagnosed than someone who's never smoked. The more cigarettes you smoke, and the more years you've been a smoker, the greater the chance of developing lung cancer.

However, it's never too late to quit - your risk starts dropping as soon as you quit, and drops steadily over the years.

Apart from smoking, there are some other factors that can increase your chance of developing lung cancer. Being exposed to asbestos is a major one - although the biggest risk is mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung rather than the lung itself.

Fortunately, asbestos has long been banned in the UK, but cancer can develop many years after you were exposed.