What is lung cancer? What is pneumonia?
Lung cancer and pneumonia share various similar symptoms and thus, it becomes difficult to differentiate between the two. Pneumonia is a lung infection leading to breathing difficulties and fluid in the lung cancer. It can be caused by various viruses, bacteria and fungi. On the other hand, lung cancer is developed due to overgrowth of cells in the lung that form tumors. In this post, we look at the link between lung cancer and pneumonia.
Lung Cancer and Pneumonia
One of the biggest drawbacks of lung cancer is that it does not cause symptoms until its later stages. Pneumonia can be developed as a complication of lung cancer in some cases. As lung cancer patients have weakened immune systems, they are likely to develop pneumonia. About 50 to 70% of people with lung cancer develop serious lung infections including pneumonia.
When a lung cancer patient gets pneumonia, he is at increased risk of poor prognosis and life expectancy. The cancerous tumors cause decrease in normal cell functioning and thus, can block the airways of lungs. Lung cancer infection compromises the ability of lungs and their functioning.
Symptoms and Signs
Lung cancer and pneumonia both cause the same symptoms and signs. These include but are not limited to cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing up blood etc. The symptoms of lung cancer that do not occur with pneumonia are unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, clubbed fingers, high calcium levels and low potassium levels. The signs of pneumonia that do not occur in lung cancer are fever, shaking, chills etc.
Outlook
The time of recovery from pneumonia depends on a person’s overall health and type of pneumonia. Usually, it takes several weeks to resolve. On the other hand, the outlook for lung cancer tends to be worse than pneumonia. Identifying lung cancer at an early stage improves the survival rates as tumor gets surgically removed before spread.
The information shared in this blog is for educational purposes only. You should always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical needs.
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