Chest

• Lung cancer primarily affects the chest and airway passages, since that is where it begins to develop. While present, it causes a near-constant cough or a change in a long-time cough. The cough may have blood in the phlegm and cause pain. Someone afflicted with lung cancer also has a shortness of breath and difficulty swallowing. The cancer can also cause a chest infection that doesn't heal.
  
  

Brain

• If the lung cancer spreads, one of the most devastating areas to be infected is the head, namely, the brain. If it has spread to this area, sufferers can experience confusion and vertigo, or begin undergoing seizures. If a major blood vessel in the head is blocked, the face can swell. Likewise, enlarged lymph nodes can cause the neck to swell.
  
  

Rest of Body

• If the lung cancer spreads to the rest of the body, even greater effects are felt. The cancer can sap all energy, causing fatigue, sleepiness and confusion. Appetite is lost, and the sufferer loses weight. There can be changes in the shape of fingers and nails. In addition, a severe pain under the ribs on the right side of the body indicates that the cancer is affecting the liver.
  
  

Hormonal Changes

• If the lung cancer has progressed far enough, it can begin producing hormones that cause symptoms unassociated with the lungs and thus hard to catch. These symptoms, called paraneoplastic symptoms, include a tingling or numbness of the toes and fingers, dizziness and confusion, or muscle weakness. In addition, for men the hormonal change can mean a swelling of the breast, and the condition can cause blood clots in everyone.
  
  

Placement

• The specific placement of the lung cancer on the lungs also affects the symptoms caused. A lung cancer located at the top of the lungs causes severe shoulder pain. Other symptoms associated with the eye and face, called Horner's syndrome, also results from this placement of the lung cancer. With Horner's syndrome, one eye has a particularly weak eyelid and unusually small pupil, while the side of the face the eye is on sweats more than average.