Bronchitis Warning: Doctors Link Persistent Cough to Lung Damage, Cancer Risk

• Persistent or recurrent bronchitis, often dismissed as a routine cough, can signal deeper lung damage and delay detection of serious conditions like lung cancer.
• While acute bronchitis is usually viral, chronic or untreated inflammation creates a high-risk environment in the lungs, increasing lung cancer risk, especially for smokers.
• Bronchitis and lung cancer share risk factors like smoking and air pollution, leading to overlapping symptoms (chronic cough, breathlessness) that can mask cancer.
• Ignoring persistent bronchitis removes a crucial warning signal, allowing harmful processes to continue unchecked and potentially leading to advanced-stage lung cancer.
• Warning signs like a cough over 3-4 weeks, blood in sputum, unexplained weight loss, or worsening breathlessness warrant immediate medical evaluation for better outcomes.

Why It Matters: Early evaluation of persistent bronchitis is crucial to prevent lung damage and detect serious diseases like cancer.