'My cough was dismissed as a chest infection but it was actually lung cancer'

It took 7 months for Dave Marcus to beryllium diagnosed - successful portion owed to the information helium wasn't a smoker.

A non-smoker was near stunned erstwhile what helium thought was a persistent cough owed to a thorax corruption turned retired to beryllium lung cancer. Initially prescribed antibiotics and having undergone country for a hernia caused by the changeless coughing, Dave Marcus' information did not improve.

The 57-year-old shared, "Even by this point, I wasn’t acrophobic astir my cough. After the hernia operation, the cough had go rather mild."

He continued, "I’d cough occasionally done the time and night. It wasn’t aggressive, conscionable persistent. If anything, it was much irritating than worrisome. It ne'er felt ominous. I deliberation that’s wherefore lung crab was ne'er successful my mind, and wherefore would it be? I hadn’t smoked truthful wherefore would I get lung cancer?"

It was lone aft his spouse Emelie, who was undergoing attraction for colon cancer, urged him to question a 2nd sentiment that helium spoke to a doc done his employer, Teladoc Health. This consultation successful October led to the shocking find of a 7.8cm tumour successful his lungs.

Reflecting connected the experience, Dave, from Knutsford successful Cheshire, said: "This doc took things overmuch much seriously, particularly fixed the magnitude of clip I had had this cough. He insisted I spot a respiratory consultant. That’s erstwhile I got the biggest daze of my life."

Dave said helium initially ignored the informing signs owed to the information helium was not a smoker. He admitted: "It’s a sobering thought to deliberation however adjacent things got," and "So overmuch of that is down to the cognition of lung crab – oregon deficiency of knowing astir this benignant of cancer."

He confessed: "I was truthful focused connected the information that I had ne'er smoked that I, unintentionally, ignored the clearest of informing signs – a persistent cough. But I wasn’t unsocial successful this thinking."

He said: "It wasn’t until I got that 2nd sentiment that lung crab became a possibility. It’s decidedly clip we halt reasoning astir lung crab successful this way. I americium impervious that it tin hap to anyone and catching it aboriginal means there’s beingness aft lung cancer."

Dave is present backing the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation's "Let Go of the Labels" run for lung crab consciousness month, which aims to destruct presumption similar smoker and never-smoker.

The NHS lists symptoms of lung crab different than a cough as; recurring thorax infections, coughing up blood, symptom erstwhile breathing oregon coughing, changeless breathlessness, chronic tiredness oregon deficiency of energy, nonaccomplishment of appetite oregon unexplained value loss. If you person immoderate symptoms including a cough that lasts longer than 3 weeks, you should consult your GP.