WE all know that a persistent cough is a sign of coronavirus, but it can also be a sign of one of the most deadly types of cancer.
Around 47,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with lung cancer every year.
In the first stages of the illness there are usually no symptoms and these only usually become visible in the later stages.
Dr Amir Khan today revealed the key signs of lung cancer you need to look out for.
He was appearing on Good Morning Britain alongside former of secretary of state for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire's wife Cathy.
Mr Brokenshire died of the illness in October last year and Cathy is now raising awareness of the condition and is trying to make screening more accesible.
Dr Khan explained that one of the most important messages people need to understand at the moment, is that not every cough is Covid.
He said: "If you have an unexplained cough for three weeks or more, then you said go and see a clinician about that and you may need further investigation. Particularly if you're a smoker.
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"Smokers are at increased risk of lung cancer but as we've heard there, it's not just smokers.
"Other causes include air pollution, occupational exposures as well, so there are other risks."
He said there could be some symptom overlaps with Covid, but if they have been going on for three weeks or more then you need to get checked out.
Dr Khan explained the symptoms you need to know: "Symptoms that people should be looking out for includes coughing up blood but it could be a change in your voice.
"If your voice has become hoarse, that could be a sign of lung cancer – particularly if its been going on for three weeks or more.
"A shortness of breath for three weeks or more. If you're a smoker and you have unexplained tiredness, losing weight, even a change in the shape of your fingernails if you're a smoker could be a sign of lung cancer.
The 5 lung cancer symptoms you must never ignore
For most people, symptoms won’t show up until the later stages of cancer, but here’s what you should be looking out for
- Coughing up blood
- Hoarse voice
- Shortness of breath
- Losing weight
- Shape of your fingernails
"Shoulder pain is another symptom."
One young woman was previously told she had tennis elbow, after she started to notice pain in her shoulder.
Jules Fielder was given exercises to help, but was then alarmed to hear she was making a "crackle" noise when breathing out.
In October, Jules noticed a "pea size" lump on her neck and says she was told it was likely to be a cyst or raise lymph node.
But she pushed for more tests, with a biopsy tragically revealing she had incurable lung cancer in November.
GET CHECKED
Last month experts at Cancer Research UK said that urgent action is needed and that people with symptoms of lung cancer should come forward.
The charity said that since the pandemic, the number of people seeing specialists for the cancer is 10 per cent lower than expected.
Data from NHS England shows that 560 fewer people were seen by a specialist following an urgent lung cancer referral in November 2021.
In it's own polling, Cancer Research UK found that many GPs were concerned with the number of people who were coming forward with suspected lung cancer.
The results of the poll showed that 74 per cent of GPs believed this was because patients had not been presenting to primary care.
Other GPs said that patients were reluctant to go to hospital due to the worries around coronavirus.
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