Cancer is one of the most common causes of death in the world. At the same time, it is easier to cure when its is detected in its earliest stages. While some cancers don’t show any symptoms until later stages, other display signs that people are most likely to ignore.
1. Unexplained Weight Loss
Weight loss that occurs for no reason, and is not a result of changes in diet or exercise, is a common sign of cancers related to the stomach, pancreas, or lungs.
2. Frequent Fever
Fever is a symptom of early stage cancer in the blood, such as leukemia or lymphoma. Fever could also indicate colon and kidney cancer in the early stage.
3. Fatigue
Extreme fatigue or tiredness should get better with some rest. If it does not, it could be a symptom of cancer, as it relates to various types of the disease, including colon cancer, stomach cancer, and leukemia.
4. Pain
Bone cancer or testicular cancer have been known to cause pain. Furthermore, a persistent headache that won’t go away or get better with time and treatment could be a symptom of brain cancer. Back pain could be a sign of colon or ovary cancer.
5. Skin Changes
Changes in the size, color, or shape of freckles, moles, or warts must be examined for skin cancer. Skin that turns particularly darker, itches constantly, yellowish eyes, and reddened skin have been known to be linked to cancer.
6. Variation in Bowel or Bladder Movements
Any abrupt variation in your bowel and bladder movements, like change in appearance of stool, constipation, diarrhea, or blood, can be a symptom of rectal or colon cancer. Pain when passing or blood in urine can be related to bladder or prostate cancer
7. Shortness of Breath
Cancer in or near the lungs may cause a blockage of the tubes that carry air. Breathlessness is also common with breast cancer tumors, ovarian or liver cancer.
Shortness of breath, called dyspnea, is a side-effect of cancer experienced by almost all cancer patients at some point, mainly in the advanced stages. But in certain types of cancer such as tumors, ovarian or liver cancer, it starts showing up in the early stages of cancer.
8. Unusual Bleeding
If you’re experiencing some sort of unexpected bleeding, then you need to start paying attention immediately. Cancer causes a weakening of the blood vessels, causing bloody discharge. For eg., cancer in the digestive tract could cause bloody stools which forecast colon cancer or kidney or bladder cancer, coughing blood could be a sign of lung cancer, and vaginal bleeding (that isn’t your period) could indicate cervical or uterine cancer in women, a bloody discharge from the nipple can indicate breast cancer.
9. Lump
Unusual lumps on your skin that you don’t know when or how you seemed to have got must be checked out. Cancerous lumps most often occure in the soft tissues of the body, ie. Breast, testicles, lymph nodes, etc. “Any time you have a lump that is new or a lump that is changing, that is something you should absolutely have looked at by your doctor,” says Dr. Bevers.
10. Struggling to Swallow
If you have a sore throat from the flu, it might make swallowing difficult, but this will probably go away in about a week or so. If the pain and difficulty to swallow persists, it might be an indication of cancer. In particular, neck, esophageal cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, thyroid and laryngeal cancers.
11. Chronic Coughing & Sore Throat
About 50% of people who consult a doctor for chronic coughing end up diagnosed with lung cancer! This shocking statistic brings the reality of the disease into perspective. If you’ve been experiencing a nagging cough or throat ache that won’t go away for a long period of time, be cautious. It could an early symptom of either lung, laryngeal, or thyroid cancer.
12. Mouth Sores
Mouth sores are a common issue faced by many people everywhere on a day-to-day basis. But in the case that they do not go away on their own within a few weeks, you need to consult your physician immediately. They could be a sign of leukoplakia, which is linked to excessive smoking and drinking.
13. Heartburn
Heartburn is a common thing that most people have experienced when having eaten a particularly unhealthy meal or not eating on time, but it only becomes cause for concern when it persists over a long period of time. It could be a precursor for a type of esophageal cancer called adenocarcinoma.
14. Abdominal Pain & Mood Swings
One of the main ways that pancreatic cancer shows itself in the earliest stages of the disease is through abdominal pain that starts from the stomach and goes all the around to the upper back. Mood swings and mild to severe depression is also a side effect of this particular cancer. Experiencing a combination of the two could be cause for concern. Although you should definitely get check by the doctor, you should know that pancreatic cancer is a rare diagnoses in such a case, unless the disease runs in your family.
