Despite frequent discussions, some individuals remain unaware of the common signs of cancer.
Symptoms can vary and are sometimes not immediately obvious. Stephen, a man who was diagnosed with lung cancer at 29, has shared his story in a video that has since gone viral.
He was taken aback by the diagnosis as he hadn’t noticed any significant health issues initially, even though he had experienced one of the typical symptoms. Before his stage 4 diagnosis, Stephen recalled feeling unusually short of breath, which he initially dismissed as a normal sign of ageing due to a lack of daily exercise.
However, this assumption proved to be dangerously incorrect.
Stephen recounted: “I was getting out of breath quickly, and I was doing student teaching, and I was just having a hard time you know with coughing – just like, persistent coughing. But it was interruptive coughing is what I remember the most.
“I would just be casually talking and all of a sudden I would have to cough real quick. They were actually just getting more in the way to the point now where I couldn’t ignore them.
“I was trying to lie down at night, and go to sleep, and I was having a really hard time breathing, and I felt like I was always just trying to cough to clear my throat.”
Then, one day while driving home from school, Stephen was rubbing his neck when he felt a “very hard nodule” on his collarbone. After a visit to the doctor who initially diagnosed bronchitis and dismissed the nodule due to Stephen’s youth, he found himself at the heart of an alarming medical revelation.
The story, shared via the @younglungcancerisathing account, has since garnered hundreds of views, with many expressing shock at the narrative. One commenter said: “My son was 16 when he got lung cancer. He passed away seven years after.”
Another said: “So sorry, don’t give up the fight. Cancer sucks.”
Echoing the concerns, another person added: “The interruptive cough. Definitely one of the biggest symptoms.”
The NHS acknowledges lung cancer’s early stages can be insidious and symptomless, but as the disease advances, signs begin to manifest.
Among the principal symptoms of lung cancer noted are:
- A cough that persists for longer than three weeks
- A long-standing cough that worsens with time
- Recurring chest infections
- Coughing up blood
- Pain when breathing or coughing
- Breathlessness
- Persistent tiredness or lack of energy
- Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss