The various stages of lung cancer tell the progression of cancer and help doctors formulate the treatment plan for the same. The chances for successful treatment are much higher when cancer is diagnosed in the early stages before it metastasizes. The problem with lung cancer is that it doesn’t show any specific symptom in its earlier stages and people get to know about it in the later stages when it spreads in the other parts of the body.

Non-small cell lung cancer is typically categorized into 4 main stages –

• Stage 1
  Cancer is diagnosed in the lung, but it has not spread anywhere
• Stage 2
  Cancer is diagnosed in the lung and the surrounding lymph nodes.
• Stage 3
  Cancer is diagnosed in the lung, lymph nodes and in the middle part of the chest.
• Stage 3A
  Cancer is present in the lymph nodes but remains localized on the same side of the chest, mostly in the region where cancer initially developed.
• Stage 3B
  Cancer has spread to other lymph nodes, even to the ones present on the opposite side of the lung. It can also spread to the lymph nodes present above the collarbone.
• Stage 4
  By this stage, cancer fully spreads in the entire lung and its surrounding regions, maybe even to the other distant organs.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) on the other hand has been only categorized into two stages.

• The initial stage in which the cancer is found only in one lung or maybe in some limited region in the lymph nodes on the same side of the chest.
• The other stage is the extensive stage in which cancer spreads everywhere, even to other distant organs of the body.

What are the various signs of lung cancer?
The various signs and symptoms of both kinds of lung cancer are almost identical.

Early signs include –

• Coughing up blood or phlegm
• Hoarseness
• Worsening cough
• Chest pain that hurts more every time you cough, laugh or breathe deeply
• Breathlessness
• Wheezing
• Weight loss and/or loss of appetite
• Fatigue or weakness
• Bronchitis or infections such as pneumonia

As cancer keeps on metastasizing, new symptoms appear depending on the place where the new tumors keep on forming, for e.g. if in the:

• Bones
  Pain in bone mostly concentrated in ribs, hips, or back
• Lymph Nodes
  Lumps mostly concentrated in collarbone or neck
• Liver
  Leads to jaundice
• Spine or brain
  Leads to dizziness, headache, numbness in legs or arms or balance issues

There have been cases in which lung cancer creates a new substance that causes various kinds of symptoms known as paraneoplastic syndrome. The symptoms might include:

• Nausea
• Muscle Weakness
• Fluid retention
• Vomiting
• High blood sugar
• High blood pressure
• Coma
• Seizures
• Confusion

One of the most common symptoms observed by the general population is back pain. Then again it is possible to have a back pain that is totally unrelated to lung cancer; hence one should not panic if they just have back pain. However, back pain is the very first symptom of lung cancer. So, consult your doctor at the earliest.