The COPD-Lung Cancer Link

A recent study shows that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are twice as likely to get lung cancer, while another found that 77% of lung cancer patients with COPD lived five years post-cancer diagnosis compared to 91% of those without COPD.

Once you are diagnosed with COPD, it is important for you and your doctor to pay close to attention to any signs indicating lung cancer. Though the two conditions have similar symptoms, such as coughing and difficulty breathing, there are subtle difference. As such, if you are experiencing one or more of the following symptoms, you should call your physician as soon as possible:

• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Unexplained weight loss
• Chest pain unrelated to coughing
• Hoarseness
• Bronchitis, pneumonia, and other recurring lung infections
• Coughing up blood or mucus marked with blood
• A nagging cough — even a dry one — that won’t go away

Read the complete Healthline story for more on COPD and its relationship to lung cancer.