What symptoms did you or your loved one experience before diagnosis?

How about you? What did you experience? 

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woke up on a Monday with a dreadful sore throat as if I had broken glass in it. I had my tonsils out aged 3 so was not used to this pain/soreness. the next day had pain behind my eyes - thought it was sinus so took over the counter cold meds. By Wednesday had a sudden onset chronic cough with stress incontinence (not had this before) but had to work so again took meds but also started prednisolone (6 a day) as I have these for chronic cat allergy and thought maybe it was an allergy. by Friday had no voice, difficulty swallowing and felt as if when breathing, it wasn't going anyway - went to hospital at 10.30pm on Friday night, after a few hours sent for a chest x-ray where a 'lesion' was found my left lung. Was discharged with steroids and antibiotics but admitted next day by ambulance as had swelling on left side of neck and kept in for 6 days treated as uncontrolled asthma (not had asthma/hay fever for years at that point). Took a month to get a CT (scanner had broken down) then sent for PET scan as 'large mass' shown on scan. 6 weeks after this learnt from a cardiothoracic surgeon that I had to lose half my left lung together with this mass that they would sent for testing to determine any follow on treatment. Had surgery mid December and a month later learnt it was lung cancer. All symptoms were new to me and felt serious but all medics were quick to dismiss it as not serious as I had never smoked and had no real history like this. I had only ever been hospitalised once with asthma at 16 so nothing by age 52 (when emergency admitted). Now advocate to healthcare professions to always consider everything and not be closed minded due to previous childhood or other conditions but to diagnose/treat based on the symptoms at the time. the only person who did that was in emergency triage who sent me for the x-ray that saved my life. the emergency doctor said she would not have sent me for the chest x-ray. as the tumour was 7cm, who knows that the alternative might have been if I hadn't had . that x-ray that night.

Coughing up blood and persistent cough

I had to have a chest x-ray and bloods because i was gonna start a new treatment and it was the x-ray that showed sumut in my lung had a biopsy and confirmed stage 3 lung cancer cos it had spread to me chest. So that was that it is what it is.

No symptoms at all. Lesion discovered when I had scan for something else. Very lucky it was discovered at very early stage. Had tumour removed and now having 3 monthly scans to check for recurrence. 

My dad had symptoms of shortness of breath in the January 18, but put it down to his heart condition and sd it’s angina I’m fine. It progressively got worse and in May 18 he had a cold that he could not shift and the cough lingered he ended up in hospital and an X-ray showed a small lesion on left lung. He was told he also had pneumonia and fluid on the lung.  Sadly the fluid contained cancer cells and lesion confirmed as cancer. He was automatically put at stage4 due to fluid on the outside of lung. He then developed pneumonia in his good lung in November 18 and sadly for my dad he passed away.  Please please people do not ignore your symptoms!!!! No matter how busy you are please make time to be seen. The heart break and devastation is unreal. I lost my best friend and it still feels like a nightmare I’m going to wake up from. 

Mum had a persistent cough and soreness, but she didn't think nothing of it. Then she started coughing blood and that's when all the test started and now she's diagnosed. Its been 3 weeks so far and I'm running around looking for info. I feel like the doctors just talk at you sometimes, not really listening.

@JanetteR This sounds so much like my symptoms before I was diagnosed. How are you doing now? I'm about to start chemotherapy but scared out my witts.

Currently back on steroids/antibiotics for an infection (saw respiratory consultant last Friday) but thankfully cancer not returned in the almost 9 years since my surgery. Returned to work and swimming 3 months after surgery and overseas travel in 2016 (insurance proved difficult).  I have my fair share of chest infections/viruses/pneumonia (none of which I had before) but thankful to still be around. Very involved now in the world of cancer research and lung cancer especially and so much has changed in every type of treatment and how the medical world now understands and treats lung cancer.  good luck

 

I HAD A CHEST INFEC SO DR SENT ME IN FOR A X-RAY FOUND SHADOW ON THE LUNG GOING FOR PET SCAN ON THURSDAY BUT I WAS TOLD IT IS CANCER NOT SURE HOW I FEEL CRYING ONE DAY BLOCKING IT THE NEXT DAY