Symptoms of lung NETs
Up to half of people with lung neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) do not have any symptoms at diagnosis. Doctors often diagnose a lung NET when doing tests for something else.
When you do have symptoms, they can be caused by the cancer itself or by hormones made by the cancer.
Symptoms caused by the cancer itself
Symptoms might include:
A cough that won’t go away
You might have a cough most of the time. It might be worse at different times of the day.
Coughing up blood
This might be small amounts of blood. You might be coughing up rust coloured phlegm (sputum). Or your sputum might have flecks of red in it.
It is more unusual to cough up larger amounts of blood. See your doctor straight away if this happens. Coughing up blood is called haemoptysis.
Being short of breath
You might get out of breath doing the things you used to do. Doctors call this dyspnoea.
An ache or pain in the chest
You might have pain in your chest or shoulder. It could be a dull ache or a sharper pain.
Ongoing chest infections
You might have chest infections most of the time. Or you might have a chest infection that doesn’t get better with treatment.
Feeling tired (fatigue)
You might feel very tired a lot of the time.
Losing weight
You might lose a lot of weight quickly when you are not dieting.
Symptoms caused by hormones
Some types of lung NETs make hormones that go into the bloodstream. Doctors call these functioning tumours. These hormones can cause symptoms that don’t seem related to the cancer. The symptoms might include:
Flushing of the skin
The skin of your face, neck and chest may look red (flushed).
Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea means having more than 3 watery poos (stools) in a 24 hour period. You might also have diarrhoea at night and problems controlling your bowels (incontinence).
Wheezing
Wheezing is a whistling sound when you breathe.
Fast heartbeat
You may feel that your heart is beating very quickly. This can make you feel dizzy, breathless and tired.
Doctors call this collection of symptoms carcinoid syndrome. It is more likely to happen if the lung NET has spread to other parts of the body, especially the liver.
