Early signs of cancer that women might overlook include:
- Unexplained Weight Loss:
Losing weight without a clear cause, such as significant reduction in food intake or exercise, warrants medical attention. While weight loss can be welcome, shedding pounds inexplicably, like losing over 10 pounds per month, may indicate an underlying issue, potentially cancer-related. - Bloating:
Though bloating is common, persistent bloating, especially when accompanied by abdominal or pelvic pain, feeling full quickly, or urinary issues, could signal ovarian cancer. Consult a doctor if bloating persists for weeks. - Breast Changes:
While lumps in the breast are a well-known sign of cancer, other breast changes should not be overlooked. These include redness and thickening of the breast skin, persistent nipple changes, rashes, or inverted nipples. A doctor may conduct various examinations to assess these changes thoroughly. - Unusual Bleeding:
Intermenstrual bleeding, particularly in women with regular cycles, or postmenopausal bleeding should not be ignored, as they could indicate various cancers like endometrial or colorectal cancer. - Skin Changes:
Besides monitoring moles, pay attention to changes in skin pigmentation, bleeding, or excessive peeling, which might suggest skin cancer.
- Difficulty Swallowing:
Severe difficulty swallowing, leading to reliance on liquid diets, could point to gastrointestinal cancers like esophageal cancer. - Unexplained Bleeding:
Blood in urine or stool might be due to issues like hemorrhoids or colon cancer, necessitating medical evaluation. - Persistent Pain:
While aging can bring various pains, persistent unexplained pain warrants investigation, as it might indicate underlying cancer. - Abdominal Pain and Depression:
Persistent abdominal pain accompanied by depression might necessitate screening for pancreatic cancer, although the connection is not fully understood. - Indigestion:
Unexplained indigestion could signal cancers of the esophagus, stomach, or throat.
- Oral Changes:
Smokers should monitor for white spots in the mouth or on the tongue, which could develop into oral cancer. - Lymph Node Changes:
Enlarged lymph nodes lasting over a month, especially in the armpit or neck, should be evaluated by a doctor. - Fever:
Unexplained fever, not linked to flu or other illnesses, could be a late symptom of cancer, particularly after the cancer has spread. - Fatigue:
Persistent fatigue, even early on, could be indicative of certain cancers like leukemia or stomach cancer. - Chronic Cough:
A persistent cough lasting more than three or four weeks, beyond typical cold or allergy symptoms, warrants medical attention, as it could indicate respiratory cancers like lung cancer.
