Terminal lung cancer not seen on X-ray

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Last year end  of November beginning of December 2023 my dad went to his GP with all signs of lung cancer- ex smoker, pain in chest, persistent cough, weight loss and loss of appetite.

GP done bloods and sent him for an X-ray, both apparently coming back normal, GP ‘saying no red flags’  we have also found out now he went  for a chest X-ray in 2019 with a cough, X-ray was also normal. 

Fast forward to January 2024 less than a month later he was referred on the 2WW pathway as a precaution due to still having symptoms, but by now he has become unsteady on his feet and confused and is deteriorating fast so is admitted to hospital for tests , on 12 February 2024 our worlds were broken when were were told that our dad had terminal Non small cell cancer, 13 days later he was gone. 

Why would a chest X-ray be normal when he had lung cancer with bone mets ?