However, very few people know that phenomena such as numbness in one hand, the appearance of tumors in the feet or unexplained itchy rashes... can all be related to lung cancer. However, for many reasons, patients subjectively do not go for screening, and by the time they are discovered, most of them are already in the late stages.

Lung cancer patients are being monitored, cared for and treated at the Oncology Department, Ca Mau General Hospital.

Usually, when there is a phenomenon of shoulder and neck pain, even spreading down one arm (right side), most people think that it is due to a herniated disc or spinal spur. Because this is a fairly typical phenomenon of spinal conditions. Because when the tumor in the lung has grown large enough, it will "compress" the nerve root. Because this nerve grows to the right side, the patient will feel numbness and pain in the right arm. According to oncologists, these cases can also be due to a herniated disc or spinal spur, but when performing in-depth testing methods such as magnetic resonance imaging of the spine, there are no abnormal signs. On the contrary, there are signs of suspicion of the possibility of lung cancer metastasizing to the spine, compressing the nerve higher. It was only when a CT scan of the lungs and biopsy tests were performed that the real cause of the pain in one arm and the location of the lung cancer tumor were found.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nha, Deputy Head of the Oncology Department, Ca Mau General Hospital, said: “If you feel numbness and fatigue spreading to one arm, along with pain in the neck and shoulder, the best solution is to have a general check-up, to promptly detect abnormal signs and have timely intervention methods. Because it is not only a herniated disc, but it is also very possible that it is a warning sign of another cancer.”

When the patient feels numbness or tingling in the palms or feet, it is often at this time that lung cancer is in a serious stage and affects the nerves, because the tumors are large enough and are pressing on the nerves or even the spinal cord, causing the peripheral nervous system to manifest as abnormal sensations in the limbs. In addition, shoulder pain is not excluded from being caused by a rare type of lung cancer called Pancoast. These tumors, after developing in lung cells, when they reach the metastatic stage, will invade from the top of the lung along the nerves in the arms and shoulders, causing pain for the patient.

Dr. Tran Van Tu, Deputy Head of the Department of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, Ca Mau Province Center for Disease Control, informed: “Currently, science has discovered many different types of lung cancer. However, if detected early, the disease can still be cured. Therefore, detecting early symptoms is very important, such as: sudden swelling in the fingers, swollen fingernails; unexplained lumps on the feet... At this time, lung cancer has metastasized to other areas of the body, compressing peripheral nerves, causing the patient to always feel pain. In addition, there are other signs such as coughing up blood, chest pain or rapid weight loss for unknown reasons...".

Doctors at the Oncology Department of Ca Mau General Hospital said that most leg tumors are benign, but they can also be metastases from lung cancer, prostate cancer or other types of cancer such as Srcoma. This is a rare type of cancer, but it is complex and highly malignant.

Doctor of Tan An Commune Health Station, Ngoc Hien District examines patient .

In fact, many people often suffer from shoulder pain. It is due to stiffness or lying still for a long time in one position or it can also be due to arthritis, bursitis and tendonitis, but few people think that it is also a sign directly related to lung cancer. Therefore, the best solution is to go for early screening using specialized methods to find the cause of shoulder pain spreading to surrounding areas or other symptoms such as pain in the arm, muscle weakness or tingling.

Phuong Vu

Source: https://baocamau.vn/te-bi-mot-ben-tay-va-can-benh-ung-thu-phoi-a39404.html