Medical Questions » Lungs Questions » Question No. 588
| Question: | I am coughing a lot, and I am a smoker. How can a doctor tell if you have lung cancer? |
| Answer: | It is difficult for lung cancer to be diagnosed without an X-ray or sputum test. Most lung cancers show up quite well on a normal chest X-ray, but if there is suspicion of the disease, and a normal X-ray shows no cancer, a special type of X-ray known as a CT scan will be performed.
Most people (but not all) with lung cancer have a chronic cough, and another way to make the diagnosis is to examine the sputum under a microscope for cancer cells.
If you are a smoker and suspicious that you may be a victim of this very serious form of cancer, arrange for a chest X-ray now. Nine out of ten lung cancers occur in smokers.
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