I'm a 31 year old male, in good physical condition, with no previous known health problems.
About a year ago I woke up one morning with considerable shortness of breath. Over the following few weeks the symptoms reduced and so I thought it would probably go away. However at this point I can say with some certainty that it is not going away, although symptoms do seem to fluctuate (hard to say for sure) over the course of several weeks and also get worse from morning to night.
The specific symptoms are
shortness of breath (tire more quickly with exercise)
dry, tickling throat (even itchy at times), often feels swollen
difficulty swallowing and occasional speaking requires abnormal effort
mild pleuritic pain (front and back)
no significant cough, but now and then an unproductive cough
exercise sometimes provokes brief coughing after, but not always
some mucus, which is occasionally foamy
Caffeine exacerbates it
eating or drinking reduces it, particularly the swallowing trouble (possibly due to cooling)
mild in morning when I wake up, worse towards evening
I have been exposed to materials including cigarette smoke (smoked sporadically until symptoms began, from 0-4 cigarettes per day, off and on for 9 years; also had roommates who smoked for about 8 years), exhaust from combustion, welding fumes, considerable air contaminants from mining processes.
Chest x-ray showed nothing noteworthy
Probably not asthma
My question is, given that I have been exposed to considerable harmful contaminants, should I be concerned about lung cancer in spite of nothing being seen on the chest x-ray? I've read that a significant number go unnoticed even in patients presenting symptoms.
I'd also be interested in advice on what may be causing my symptoms, any additional tests that would be helpful, and if I should seek a specialist. I live in a rural community that is somewhat limited in medical personnel and any help that adds to what they have done for me so far would make a great difference!