Do you want to know if you have lung cancer?
Well, medical professionals have revealed that a simple ‘finger test’ can help identify lung cancer at its early stages, which could be life-saving.
Although most people are familiar with symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, and wheezing, warning signs may appear in the hands before these more obvious symptoms appear.
The “finger test”:
The test involves placing your fingernails together and pressing them together. The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation then recommends asking yourself one crucial question: do you see a small diamond-shaped hole?
If the answer is no, it could indicate finger clubbing, a condition that occurs in 35% of non-small cell lung cancer cases and 4% of small cell lung cancer patients.
Britain’s leading lung cancer charity insists: “Although the absence of this diamond-shaped window does not automatically indicate lung cancer, it can be a symptom.”
“If you think your nails are clubbed, contact your doctor,” she added.
It is also necessary to understand that finger clubbing develops slowly, usually starting at the nail base before progressing, resulting in nails that curve more noticeably than normal.
Cancer research shows that softening of the nail bed and inflammation of the surrounding skin are additional signs.
“Finger clubbing means that certain changes occur in the shape of your fingers and fingernails,” the charity explains.
“It is also called digital clubbing or hippocratic fingers. People with conditions such as heart or lung problems sometimes have these changes,” they concluded.
