What are lung cancer symptoms in nonsmokers?
In its early stages, lung cancer often has no symptoms. But when it does, the symptoms are the same in smokers and nonsmokers. Symptoms may include: • Persistent cough, especially coughing up blood • Hoarseness, wheezing or shortness of breath • Repeated episodes of pneumonia or bronchitis • Fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss The difference tends to be that because the symptoms are similar to other conditions, the diagnosis of lung cancer is often placed lower on the list of possibilities for nonsmokers. If a 40-year-old nonsmoker has a cough and gets pneumonia, for instance, a physician might not think of lung cancer first.
