Cancer is one of the leading reasons of death in the world today. It can strike anyone at any time, by infecting almost any organ of the body. This article highlights the major signs of cancer, especially focusing on the early signs of cancer. If you, or anyone you know exhibits any of these signs, it would be advisable to consult a doctor immediately, as early detection can lead to a higher chance of recovery! In most cases, patients are slow to report to the doctor about their symptoms, and delaying detection can certainly complicate matters, if the cancer spreads to other parts of the body. With this in mind, please read through the following 5 major signs of cancer as reported by various experts in the field:
Fatigue is arguably the most common sign of cancer. As the cancer grows, so does the level of fatigue. This fatigue is normally experienced due to the prevalence of anemia which develops is several different kinds of cancer.
Cancer patients are bound to lose weight at some point of their illness. But be careful- if you are generally watching your calories, or taking weight reduction measures, this symptom may still apply to you or your loved ones. Since no weight loss technique in the world can guarantee significant or exponential weight loss, in a short span of time, watching your weight decrease is crucial. If you have no explaination for how you may have lost so much weight suddenly or over time, you may want to check for other symptoms mentioned in this article.
Fever continues to be one of the most common illnesses the human body has throughout its life. But it is also a very common sign of cancer, especially in victims who have cancers related to their immune system. Fever may or may not be an early sign of cancer, as it occurs most commonly once the cancer has spread from its origin. Nevertheless, fever is a common side illness of cancer and if diagnosed early, it is a major sign of cancer of the blood (leukemia for example).
Pain, especially those that do not end with treatment and continue to reoccur, are early symptoms of cancer (American Cancer Society n.d.). Pain is not always an early sign of cancer, but it is for cases of bone cancer, or testicular cancer. Readers are advised to consult their doctors if they have headaches, back pains, or other such pains that aren’t cured by treatment.
Skin cancer usually shows the highest early signs of cancer, making it more easy to detect physically, and treat quicker. However most people will let such things slide until they realize something is wrong, and by that time it may be too late. One must constantly watch out for small variations to the skin, such as a change in the shape, size or color of a freckly, wart or mole. Other more prominent signs of skin cancer include sores and white patches that do not heal (especially in the mouth which can lead to oral cancer), skin darkening or reddening and excessive growth of hair. Although yellow skin and eyes are a sign of jaundice, one would do well to consider visiting a trained professional to examine the patient to check for possible skin cancer.
We hope you found this article useful in trying to identify major signs of cancer and detecting cancer at the earliest. The hope is that as people become more aware of this deadly disease, we can continue to combat it and win. Remember: not all cancers are incurable. Thus, early detection is just one more plus point in the continuous battle against this disease. Anyone who faces this life changing disease should always keep in mind that the solution is to fight it with head held up high. After all, if Sheryl Crow, Christina Applegate, and most notably Lance Armstrong can fight cancer and win, why can’t we?
