Lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of death: when should you worry?

Lung cancer is a major public health problem, causing numerous deaths around the world.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the adjusted mortality rate for the disease in Costa Rica in 2019 was 7.7% of deaths per 100,000 men and 3.7% of deaths per 100,000 women.

For this reason, within the framework of the International Day against Lung Cancer, doctors remind people of some of the most common symptoms of this disease so that they can be detected in time.

For oncologist Adrián Guzmán, early detection of diseases, especially lung cancer, is crucial because symptoms may differ from person to person and may not produce noticeable symptoms in the early stages. People are not diagnosed with the disease until it is late in the disease.

A persistent cough and shortness of breath are some of the most common symptoms, but other symptoms and complications may include coughing up blood, chest, shoulder or back pain, recurring lung infections (such as pneumonia or bronchitis), and voice changes, especially hoarseness.

The screening test recommended by pulmonologists for people at high risk of developing this type of cancer is a low-dose computed tomography scan (also called low-dose CT).

Detecting lung cancer can save lives. As with other types of cancer, the key to a better prognosis is detection in its early stages.