Cancer is a scary word that nobody enjoys hearing but the reality is that the sooner it’s diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin and your life can get back to some sort of normalcy. Knowing the facts and understanding the symptoms is a good way to make sure if something isn’t right, it’s caught early. Here are eight signs that you may have cancer.
Unintentional weight loss
Unless you are actively trying to lose weight, randomly losing a significant amount of weight is definitely worth seeing a doctor over. If you’ve noticed that you’ve managed to lost 10 lbs in the last few weeks without any changes to your diet or exercise regime, go and ask your local doctor.
Severe pain
Depending on the type of cancer you may experience prolonged periods of pain in the affected area. Cancer’s like bone, brain and ovarian cancers do tend to first be noticed because of the pain associated with it. However, a lot of cancer’s have no pain whatsoever.
Unhealed sores
From mouth ulcers that haven’t healed to scabs that have taken far too long to disappear, these scabs can be a sign that either your immune system isn’t functioning normally or that the type of cancer (like mouth or oral) is showing up on the surface.
Unexplained bleeding
If your morning cough has started to turn bloody or your normal discharge doesn’t look so normal anymore, it’s a sign that you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. Cancer’s like lung can take a while to develop enough for you to see the physical effects of it so as soon as you notice a change in your body, consult a professional asap.
Changes in bowel movements
While everyone’s bowel movements change depending on what food they’ve recently indulged in, if you notice things changing relatively quickly or have gone from solid to liquid or painful then it might be a sign that your intestines and bowel aren’t working the way they are meant.
Blood in the stool
A doctor always should investigate blood in your stool. Hemorrhoids frequently cause rectal bleeding, but because hemorrhoids are so common, they may exist with cancer. Therefore, even when you have hemorrhoids, you should have a doctor examine your entire intestinal tract when you have blood in your bowel movements.
With some individuals, X-ray studies may be enough to clarify a diagnosis. Colonoscopy is usually recommended. Routine colonoscopy, even without symptoms, is recommended once you are 50 years old.
Sometimes when the source of bleeding is entirely clear (for example, recurrent ulcers), these studies may not be needed.
Unexplained anemia (low blood count)
Anemia is a condition in which people have fewer than the expected number of red blood cells in their blood. Anemia should always be investigated. There are many kinds of anemia, but blood loss almost always causes iron deficiency anemia. Unless there is an obvious source of ongoing blood loss, this anemia needs to be explained.
Many cancers can cause anemia, but bowel cancers most commonly cause iron deficiency anemia. Evaluation should include endoscopy or X-ray studies of your upper and lower intestinal tracts.
It’s important to keep in mind that while being vigilant and taking notice of changes is vital, a lot of these symptoms and signs can be attributed to other less life threatening illnesses so before jumping to any conclusions, consult your local doctor and find out what’s going on.
Changes to your skin
It’s important to take notice of your actual skin condition and not just the moles and freckles you have. A lot of the time yellowed, reddened or darker patches of skin can be a sign of something sinister. It can also be a symptom of skin problems lurking beneath and not cancerous but it’s always best to double check with your doctor.