It is important to notice any abnormal changes that occur in your body. As it can be a symptom of cancer. Knowing the early symptoms of cancer may help you better to cure the disease.
So how will you know about these symptoms? Let me help you in finding the early symptoms of cancer. I will tell you about these symptoms so that you can easily detect the signs of cancer in your body.
Cancer is the group of diseases and it doesn’t occur suddenly, rather it grows with time in your body. It shows various early symptoms that can be easily detected, but most people ignore these symptoms.
The symptoms of cancer depend on factors like where it is, how much it affects the tissues or organs and how big it is? If cancer spreads in your body its symptoms appear in different areas of your body.
As cancer grows larger it may produce pain, press the nerves, penetrate into blood veins and may lead to bleeding. It may also interfere with the functions of your body organs.
But sometimes cancer grows where it is not easy to detect it until it has become large enough. Like the cancer of the pancreas, that doesn’t show any symptoms until it becomes large enough to press on the nearby organs or nerves.
This, in turn, leads to belly or back pain. Moreover, it can spread at the bile duct and may block the bile flow. And this leads to skin and eyes to look yellow which we know as the disease namely jaundice. But this is a symptom of advanced stage that means cancer has spread beyond its place in your body.
Cancer also shows symptoms like weight loss, extreme tiredness, and fever. It may be because cancer cells use a large amount of your body’s energy.
Moreover, sometimes cancer cells release the elements into the bloodstream that leads to symptoms which are not linked to cancer. And it makes difficult to detect that symptom for cancer.
Like in some cases of pancreas cancer, it releases elements that lead to blood clots in the vessels of the leg. Sometimes lung cancer makes hormone type substances that increase the levels of calcium in the blood.
The other early symptoms of cancer include a sore that doesn’t heal, indigestion or difficulty in swallowing, persistent headaches, changes in bowel or bladder habits, cough or hoarseness that doesn’t go away, unusual bleeding or discharge and much more.
Now I will tell you in detail about the symptoms of cancer. So keep reading.
Table of Contents
Early Symptoms Of Having Cancer
1. Swelling Of Facial Features
Redness and swelling in the face can be a symptom of lung cancer. Small cells of lung cancer blocks the blood veins in your chest. And this, in turn, prevents smooth flow of blood from your face and head.
2. Changes In Nails
Changes in the fingernails can also be a symptom of different kinds of cancers. Pale and white nails can be a symptom of liver cancer, black or brown dot under the nails indicates the skin cancer. Furthermore, enlargement of the ends of fingernails that curve down over the tips indicates lung cancer.
3. Weight Loss
An unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds or more is a symptom of cancer. It may be the symptom of colon cancer and other digestive cancers. It is a symptom of cancer that spreads to the liver. And it affects your appetite and the ability of your body to get rid of wastes itself.
4. Stomach Ache
Frequent stomachache may be a symptom of colorectal cancer.
5. A Sore, Red Or Swollen Breast
These may be a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer. You should consult to doctor for a proper checkup.
6. Unable To Eat Or Feeling Full
This is the symptom of ovarian cancer. Women suffering from ovarian cancer reported a loss of appetite. Also, they don’t feel hungry even when they haven’t eaten anything for a long time. You should also have knowledge about food that causes cancer.
7. Weakness And Fatigue
Fatigue and weakness can be an early symptom of many different types of cancer.
8. Pelvic Or Abdominal Pain
Pain in abdomen and pelvis can occur simultaneously along with the bloating that shows the symptoms of ovarian cancer. Leukemia may also lead to abdominal pain which is due to the enlarged spleen.
9. Blood In Stool Or Rectal Bleeding
This can be a symptom of colorectal cancer.
10. Bloating Or Abdominal Weight Gain
Women suffering from ovarian cancer reports unexplained abdominal bloating which occurs suddenly. And it continues to, on and off for a long period of time.
11. Pain In Back And Lower Right Side
Pain in the back can be the first symptom of liver cancer. It is also a symptom of breast cancer that occurs when cancer spreads to ribs or spine. Or when the breast tumor press on backward into the chest.
Pain can also be the early symptoms of some cancers like testicular or bone cancer. A headache that doesn’t go or gets better by treatment can be a sign of brain tumor.
12. Excessive Bleeding Or Bruising That Doesn’t Stop
This symptom shows that something abnormal is happening with the red blood cells and the platelets. It can be a symptom of leukemia. By the time leukemia cells crowds out the platelets and red blood cells. And hence reduces your blood’s ability to carry clot and oxygen.
13. Swollen Lymph Nodes, Underarm, Groin Or Lumps On The Neck
Extended lymph nodes show the changes in the lymphatic system that can be a sign of cancer.
14. Changes In Skin
Along with skin cancer, there are some other cancers also which causes skin changes that can be easily seen. These symptoms include yellowish skin and eyes due to jaundice, dark looking skin due to hyperpigmentation, excessive hair growth, itching because of pruritus, and reddened skin due to erythema.
15. Difficulty In Swallowing
Difficulty in swallowing can be a symptom of the throat or esophageal cancer. Sometimes it is the first symptom of lung cancer also.
16. Changes In Bladder Function Or Bowel Habits
Diarrhea and constipation for a long time can be a symptom of colon cancer. Changes in bladder function or blood in urine indicates prostate or bladder cancer.
17. Frequent Infection Or Fever
This can be a symptom of leukemia, a cancer of blood cells which begins in bone marrow. It forces the marrow to create abnormal white blood cells which reduce your body’s infection-fighting abilities.
18. Chest Pain Or A Chronic Cough
There are some kinds of cancer including lung tumors and leukemia that shows symptoms like bronchitis or a bad cough. Furthermore, some lung cancer patients report chest pain which spreads down to the arms or to the shoulders.
19. Sores That Doesn’t Heal
Skin cancer can lead to bleeding and can look like the sores that don’t heal. A sore in the mouth for a long time can be a symptom of oral cancer. The people who frequently drink alcohol, chew tobacco and smoke encounter these symptoms more.
20. White Spots On Tongue
White spots on the tongue indicate the symptoms of leukoplakia. Leukoplakia is the pre- cancerous part that is due to frequent irritation.
It occurs due to smoking and by chewing tobacco. If you will not treat the early symptom of leukoplakia then it will turn into mouth cancer in future.
21. Wheezing Or Shortness Of Breath
Difficulty or inability in breathing or shortness of breath is the first symptom of lung cancer.
22. Hoarseness Or Nagging Cough
A cough that doesn’t get better by treatment can be a symptom of lung cancer. Furthermore, hoarseness indicates the thyroid gland cancer or larynx cancer.
Most of all having these symptoms don’t mean that you have cancer. But if these symptoms last for a longer time then you should consult to doctor for a proper checkup. So as to find out what is going in your body?
