CAROLINE PRADERIO,
GABBY LANDSVERK SEP 6, 2019, 5:33 AM
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According to the American Cancer Society, cancer can occur anywhere in the
body, and cause “almost any” symptom.
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Some symptoms can be very subtle, such as fatigue. Others may be more obvious, like
pain or fever.
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Here’s what to watch out for, and when to take your concerns to a
medical professional.
Cancer
can occur anywhere in the body and cause “almost any” symptom,
according to the American Cancer Society, or the ACS. Sometimes these symptoms
are impossible to ignore. But sometimes they’re vague and all too easy to brush
aside or miss completely.
But
noticing cancer symptoms is important, since treatments work best when the
disease is found early. So Insider asked two doctors – Dr. Ioana
Bonta, a medical oncologist at Cancer Treatment Centres of
America, and Dr. Marleen Meyers, a
breast medical oncologist at NYU Langone Medical Centre –
about cancer symptoms you might miss.
Both
stressed that even if you notice a possible sign of cancer, you shouldn’t
panic. Lots of symptoms that sometimes indicate cancer are most often caused by
something totally benign.
“Unless
the symptoms are interfering with your day to day life or life-threatening, the
key is to keep an eye on it for a while and see if it goes away, because for
most people it will,” Meyers said. Her rule of thumb: If a new symptom doesn’t
resolve after about two weeks, that’s a good time to call your doctor.
This list
is by no means exhaustive – symptoms can vary greatly based
on cancer type, size, and location in the body – but it’s a good place to
start. Here are 13 possible symptoms to look out for.
1.
Fatigue
Pay attention to persistent
fatigue that you can’t easily explain.
Both
Bonta and Meyers listed fatigue – tiredness that doesn’t get better
with rest – as a cancer symptom that’s easy to miss.
This can
include insomnia (feeling tired but being unable to sleep), sleeping more than
usual without feeling rested, or a general sense of lethargy or lack of energy.
“When you
have fatigue, my recommendation is do a little bit of analysis,” Bonta said.
There could be any easy explanation – maybe you’ve been sleeping poorly or
recently started a new medication.
“But if
all the other things are in order and this is a new symptom for you, then I’d
be worried about it,” Bonta said.
2. Skin
bumps
Skin cancer can look
innocuous.
“One
thing that’s often overlooked are skin cancers and skin lesions,” Meyers said.
“Skin cancers don’t necessarily look ugly and scary. They sometimes can look
like just little raised pink growths.”
Melanomas
– the most deadly type of skin cancer – aren’t necessarily pigmented, she
added. They can also occur in odd places in the body, including under your
fingernails and toenails.
“For skin
cancer we have to know our own skin and see if there’s any change,” Bonta
added. Here’s a simple guide to skin checks from
the American Cancer Society.
A wound
that won’t heal is another potential sign of skin cancer,
dermatologist Dr. Allison Arthur previously explained to Insider.
“A common
story that my patients will tell me is, ‘I have this sore, I thought it was a
pimple, it bled, and then I thought it was going away but then it bled again,'”
she said.
3.
Feeling full really quickly
Feeling full after just a few bites? It might be worth seeing your
doctor if the feeling persists.
Ovarian
cancer can be tough to catch in its
early stages. One possible symptom might be early satiety, Bonta
said. That’s when you feel full after eating only small amounts of food.
The
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition has a complete list of possible
signs and symptoms women should know about.
And it’s
related to other symptoms such as …
4. Poor
appetite
A decrease in appetite may
sometimes be worrisome.
Meyers
said poor appetite can sometimes be a cancer symptom. It may signal colon cancer, ovarian cancer,
stomach cancer, or pancreatic cancer, or even lung cancer, according
to Cancer Treatment Centres of America.
This can
be related to other symptoms such as pain, which can make it difficult to eat.
But cancer also releases chemicals into the body that can mess with your
metabolism.
5.
Unexplained weight loss
Bonta
said that unexplained weight loss can be a symptom of cancer. If you drop 10
pounds or more without trying to, it’s worth calling your doctor.
The ACS
says unexplained weight loss happens
most often pancreatic, stomach, esophageal, and lung cancers.
It can
also be a symptom of several types of blood cancer, which are among the more
difficult cancers to spot, according to a new UK campaign called “Make Blood Cancer Visible.”
6. Breast
rashes
Monitor your breasts for
skin changes as well as lumps.
Lumps are the most common sign
of breast cancer, according to the ACS. But they’re not the only
sign.
Skin
changes on your breasts – including rashes, irritation, dimpling,
and scaly, red, or thickened nipples – may
also indicate cancer.
“The
breast is not a common place to have a rash,” Bonta said. “I would look into
that.”
7.
Bloating
People
with ovarian cancer may also experience bloating or a swelling stomach, Bonta
said.
“If a
woman reports pelvic or abdominal pain, increased abdominal size, bloating,
difficulty eating, or feeling full quickly – and if the symptoms are new within
the past year and if they occur more than 12 times per month – it’s a red
flag.”
8. Fever
Bonta
said that fever is sometimes a cancer symptom. Most often, it’s a sign that a
cancer has spread to a different part of the body than where it started, but it
can be an early symptom of blood cancers leukemia or lymphoma, according to the
ACS.
A
temperature of more than 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit is concerning, especially if
it persists for more than 24 hours or is accompanied by shaking or chills.
9. Night
sweats
Waking up soaked in sweat
can be a red flag.
Excessive
sweating after bedtime can be a sign that something’s going on with your
health, especially if the weather doesn’t warrant it.
Night
sweats can indicate lymphoma, a cancer
of the immune system. However, it’s usually accompanied by other symptoms on
this list like fever, fatigue, and weight loss.
10.
Persistent hoarseness or coughing
Plenty of
common, noncancerous ailments can cause a cough or hoarseness, from allergies
to respiratory infections.
But if
you lose your voice for longer than three or four weeks, that may be an early
symptom of throat cancer, according to Cancer Research UK.
Other signs to watch out for include shortness of breath and difficulty
swallowing.
11. Pain
“Any pain
that’s out of proportion with your activity is a red flag,” Bonta said. “If I
go to the gym today and I pull a muscle, I have a reason for pain. But if I
have leg pain, I don’t remember injuring my leg, it doesn’t go away, and three
days later I still have to take pain medication, that’s a problem.”
Unexplained
pain can be an early warning sign of a variety of cancers depending on where it
is in the body, according to ACS. A persistent,
untreatable headache could be a symptom of brain cancer. Back pain may indicate
colon cancer, rectum cancer, or ovarian cancer. General pain, without an
obvious cause, is sometimes a symptom of bone cancers or testicular cancer.
12.
Anemia
People
with anemia don’t
have enough healthy, normal red blood cells. Iron-deficiency anemia – the most common type,
according to the Mayo Clinic – can occur because of blood loss.
Bonta
said some iron deficiency anemia is easily explained – it can happen to women with heavy periods,
for example. But unexplained iron deficiency anemia may be a “red flag” for
cancer in the colon or rectum, she added.
The ACS
explains that some colorectal cancers, as they’re often called, can bleed into the intestine.
Over time that loss of blood may lead to anemia, and the blood may not always
be visible or noticeable in the stool. In fact, the ACS says, a blood test that
reveals a low red blood cell count is sometimes the first sign of a colorectal
cancer.
13.
Changes when you go to the bathroom
Changes
in bowel movements or urine can be signs of a few different cancers.
Blood in
the stool is never a good sign, especially if there’s not an obvious cause. It
signify stomach cancer or
colorectal cancers. Other changes in bowel movements, like diarrhoea or
constipation that last more than a few days, can also be signs of colorectal
cancer, the ACS explains.
Bonta
said that in men, symptoms like blood in the urine, needing to pee freqeuntly
at night, sudden urges to urinate, or a weak stream of urine could indicate prostate cancer.
In
women, urinary frequency and urgency
can be signs of ovarian cancer, according to the ACS.
And in
all people, certain urinary changes may also be symptoms of kidney and bladder cancers,
the ACS says. So it pays to be alert and notice when there’s a long-lasting
change in your normal bathroom habits.
Remember:
Don’t panic.
Not every one of these
symptoms is a surefire sign of cancer.
Not every
symptom indicates cancer, and not every symptom warrants a battery of tests.
Both Meyers and Bonta stressed that unnecessary testing can actually be
harmful.
“The
financial costs and psychological costs can be very high,” Bonta said. “Talk to
any patient who ever had a biopsy about what you’re going through
psychologically while you’re waiting for it and while you’re having it.”
Some
testing and screening procedures have risks or complications, too. CT scans,
for example, expose your body to radiation.
A doctor will know when a scan, biopsy, or other test is truly going to be more
helpful than harmful.
“I think,
in general, we don’t want people to panic,” Meyers said. “Give [a symptom] a
little time to see if it goes away. If it doesn’t, then have it investigated.”
Read more about the signs and
symptoms of cancer at the American Cancer Society.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/subtle-signs-of-cancer-2018-2
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