Blood in Cough- Lung Cancer Sign

Coughing of blood ( Hemoptysis ) is a sign of airway or lungs disease.

The amount and quality range from blood mixed with sputum each time you cough or you cough up several cups of blood or even massive bleeding. Massive bleeding is an emergency but this situation is uncommon. No matter how small the amount of blood you should consult your doctor soon. 

Causes of coughing up blood :-

The most common causes are chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, lung cancer, pneumonia, lung abscess, fungal infection, mitral stenosis etc.

Lung Cancer Signs and Symptoms: –

Lung cancer remains the number one cause cancer death among men. Heavy smokers that smoke more than 25 cigaretts/day experience a risk that is 20 times greater than that of Non smokers.

Clinical Features:- 

• Chronic cough
• Coughing up blood
• Difficulty in breathing ( due to collapse or pleural effusion )
• Chest pain
• Recurrent pneumonia ( slowly resolving)
• Hoarseness of voice
• Bone pain
• Weight loss and loss of appetite
• Neurological and muscular:- headache, dizziness, seizure, neuropathy, dementia, myopathy due to cancer spread to brain and spinal cord.

• Horner syndrome:- Due to pancost tumor cancer of the apex part of the lung can affect nerves to eye and part of the face cause horner syndrome. drooping or weakness of eye lid( ptosis), smaller pupil, shoulder pain, decrease or absence of sweating on the same side of face
• Symptoms due to Superior vena cava obstruction:- Swelling in face, neck, arms, upper chest bluish red skin colour.
• Para neoplastic syndrome:- inappropriate ADH secretion( SIADH ) due to small cell carcinoma. Kidney retain water this lower salt level in blood, causes fatigue , muscles weakness, vomiting, restlessness, confusion.
• Cushing syndrome:- cancer cells may make ectopic ACTH secretion in which cortisol level of blood increase. This can cause weight gain, easy bruising, weakness, fluid retention in the body.
• High blood calcium level (Hypercalcaemia)
• Excess growth or thickening of certain bone(Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy)
• Excess breast growth in men (Gynaecomastia), blood clots etc.

If you or your loved one is experiencing any of the mentioned medical conditions, it is best that you consult a doctor and a pulmonologist at the earliest.