A 76-year-old patient with a 200-pack year smoking history presents with complaints of chronic cough, dyspnea, fatigue, hemoptysis, and weight loss over the past 2 months. The physical examination reveals decreased breath sounds and dullness to percussion over the left lower lung field. The chest x-ray demonstrates shift of the mediastinum and trachea to the left. These are classic signs of:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The symptoms and physical findings described, including chronic cough, dyspnea, fatigue, hemoptysis, weight loss, decreased breath sounds, dullness to percussion, and mediastinal shift on imaging, are classic signs of lung cancer, especially in a patient with a significant smoking history.

A 76-Year-Old Patient with a 200-Pack Year Smoking History Presents