Lung cancer symptoms – how to reveal your risk of a tumour by looking at your fingertips
Lung cancer is one of the most serious types of cancer to be diagnosed, as it’s usually difficult to spot until it has spread to other parts of the body. You could be at risk of the disease if you develop slightly “fatter fingertips”, it’s been revealed
Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers to be diagnosed in the UK, warned the NHS.
Around 45,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK every year.
Signs of the disease only tend to reveal themselves once the cancer has spread through the lungs.
One of the key symptoms of lung cancer is finding that your fingertips have grown wider.
Unusually large fingertips may be caused by lung cancer, according to medical website WebMD.
Lung tumours instigate the production of certain chemicals that increases blood flow to the fingertips, it said.
That subsequently leads to thicker or larger fingertips, which may also cause the nails to appear shinier.
Around 80 percent of people with these larger fingertips also have lung cancer.
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“In its early stages, lung cancer doesn’t typically have symptoms you can see or feel,” it said.
“Later, it often causes coughing, wheezing, and chest pain. But there are other, lesser-known effects that can show up, too – in places you may not expect.
“Some lung tumours make hormone-like chemicals. One of them pushes more blood and fluid to the tissues in your fingertips, so they look thicker or larger than usual.
“The skin next to your nails may seem shiny, or your nails may curve more than usual when you look at them from the side. It’s not common, but finger clubbing is strongly linked to lung cancer.”
But just because you develop finger clubbing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have lung cancer.
While lung cancer is the most common cause of the symptom, it may also be caused by a heart infection, a heart defect, or even chronic lung infections.
You should speak to a doctor straight away if you develop finger clubbing.
It’s more likely to be caused lung cancer if it’s accompanied by any of the more common warning signs.
Lung cancer symptoms include a cough that won’t go away, coughing up blood, difficulty breathing, and having an ache or pain while breathing.
The outlook for lung cancer isn’t as good as other types of cancer, as the symptoms are usually only spotted in its later stages.
About one in three patients live for at least a year after their diagnosis, while one in 20 live for another 10 years.
Around 45,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK every year.
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