What should I do about dry cough and wheezing caused by lung cancer?

Written by An Yong Peng
Pulmonology
Updated on February 12, 2025
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Patients with lung cancer presenting with dry cough and wheezing often require treatment to suppress coughing, alleviate wheezing, and address the symptoms. It is also important to check if the patient has concurrent obstructive pneumonia. Lung cancer combined with obstructive pneumonia can also lead to dry cough and wheezing. In such cases, anti-infection treatment is needed, along with treatment specifically targeting lung cancer itself. Dry cough and wheezing in lung cancer often suggest that the cancer may be in the middle to late stages, where the chances of surgery are generally small. However, it is still necessary to complete relevant examinations to further assess the condition. If the patient is eligible for surgery, surgical treatment should be considered. If the patient is indeed in the middle to late stages of lung cancer and is not suitable for surgery, chemotherapeutic drugs are needed for treatment. Sometimes, targeted drugs can be chosen for treating advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer. In cases of advanced non-small cell lung cancer with driver gene mutations, targeted therapy might even be the preferred treatment option.

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What are the symptoms of lung cancer?

The most common symptoms of lung cancer include coughing, particularly irritating coughs, and symptoms of coughing up blood. The blood in the sputum may appear as spots, streaks, or intermittent small amounts. Other symptoms include difficulty breathing and chest pain, as well as potential tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, and fever. Secondly, if lung cancer grows within the thoracic cavity and spreads, invading nearby tissues and organs, it can produce secondary symptoms. For example, paralysis of the phrenic nerve on the same side may lead to difficulty breathing and belching. Compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve may cause hoarseness; compression of the superior vena cava can lead to distended veins in the face, neck, and upper limbs; subcutaneous edema; and if the pleura is invaded, it can cause pleural effusion, among other symptoms. If lung cancer metastasizes through the bloodstream, it may spread to the brain and potentially lead to symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Metastasis to different regions of the brain might cause various symptoms, including seizures, mental confusion, and vision impairment. In a minority of cases, lung cancer may produce endocrine substances, possibly leading to symptoms like severe muscle weakness, bone and joint pain, and other such symptoms.

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Is coughing up blood lung cancer?

Patients with lung cancer can experience hemoptysis, but the occurrence of hemoptysis does not necessarily mean that it is caused by lung cancer. Although hemoptysis is a symptom of lung cancer, there are many other diseases that can cause it as well, such as tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, lung abscess, various pneumonias, certain heart diseases, blood disorders, etc. Therefore, it can only be said that hemoptysis may be an indication of lung cancer, not that hemoptysis confirms the presence of lung cancer.

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What is good to eat for lung cancer?

For dietary recommendations regarding lung cancer, the first suggestion is to maintain a regular diet and lifestyle with a routine schedule, focusing on easy-to-digest and absorbable foods. The second suggestion is to enhance nutrition intake, for instance, by consuming more eggs, milk, and other high animal protein foods, such as quality protein sources. The third suggestion is to eat more healthy green foods, such as vegetables and fruits, focusing on fresh items. The fourth point is to advise against smoking and drinking alcohol, and to consume fewer irritating foods.

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Does early-stage lung cancer cause facial swelling?

Patients with early-stage lung cancer generally do not experience facial swelling. This is because early-stage lung cancers mainly include carcinoma in situ and stage I lung cancer. At this stage, the cancer tissue is confined to the mucosa, without invasion of the surrounding tissues or distant metastasis. Therefore, the clinical symptoms of patients with early-stage lung cancer primarily involve the respiratory system. Clinical symptoms mainly include coughing, often a dry cough without phlegm, or coughing up phlegm with blood, hemoptysis, and massive hemoptysis. Some patients may experience chest pain, or have a barking cough, or a metallic-sounding cough. Some patients may have shortness of breath after physical activity, and severe cases can experience breathing difficulties. In most cases, patients do not exhibit other clinical changes. However, as the disease progresses, and there is invasion into surrounding tissues, or distant metastases occur, symptoms of invasion into surrounding tissues or distant metastatic sites may appear. For example, metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes can cause enlarged lymph nodes, or compression of the superior vena cava by the patient, resulting in swelling of the face and neck.

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How to check for lung cancer?

How to check for lung cancer, firstly, for lung cancer screening, particularly in people over forty years old, especially smokers, it is recommended to regularly undergo low-dose spiral CT scans of the chest. Secondly, if a tumor is detected, it is suggested to proceed with enhanced CT scans, sputum cytology tests, or PET-CT. If it is confirmed that there is a tumor in the lungs, then a biopsy is needed. The biopsy can be performed under bronchoscopy, or transthoracic lung puncture and biopsy of living tissue can also be done, as well as biopsy of metastatic lesions or cytological examination of pleural effusion to diagnose whether it is lung cancer, the type of lung cancer, and certain immunohistochemical situations.