As we go about living our daily lives, it’s easy to not pay attention to certain clues our bodies may be given which may indicate that something is not quite right. Sometimes even when we notice these clues, we tend to downplay them in the hope that it is nothing serious and will end up going away on its own. While understandable that we don’t want to run to the doctor immediately upon any seemingly minor issue cropping up, this can be very dangerous when it comes to cancer. With cancer, early detection is directly correlated to survival rates, therefore it’s very important to pay attention to the potential warning signs and catch the disease as early as possible.
To help with that, below are a few symptoms to bear in mind and not always ignore.
BLOATING
Many women are all too familiar with that bloated feeling during their menstrual cycles so it’s easy to ignore a symptom like bloating, however persistent bloating should not be ignored. This is because several types of cancers can lead to bloating, including colon, uterine, and ovarian cancers. In the case of colon cancer, bloating may, in fact, be the only noticeable symptom, unless it’s located at the end of the colon, in which case there could be bleeding and constipation as well. If bloating persists past that time of the month, it should not be brushed aside.
EXCESSIVE WEIGHT LOSS
In this age of #Fitfam and #snapback, many people look
forward to stepping on the scale and seeing a few less kilos than they saw the last time. A sudden, otherwise unexplainable weight loss could be seen as a blessing for those struggling to control their weight, however it could, unfortunately, be due to cancer. Ovarian and stomach cancers can both lead to a loss of appetite and a feeling of fullness after eating only small amounts of food, which can lead to rapid weight loss. These symptoms can be caused either by tumors that press against the intestines, which makes one feel full or by the tumors secreting a substance that reduces one’s appetite.
EASY BRUISING
Skin that is quick to bruise even with the slightest trauma might be a sign that something is not quite right in the blood. There are a number of conditions which can affect some blood components and present as easy bruising, and unfortunately the blood cancer leukemia is one of them. It can lead to bruises and rashes forming on the skin, the latter not directly due to leukemia, but because it lowers white blood cell count, which makes it harder to fight infections. In the case of bruises, they are caused by a lack of platelets in the blood due to the disease.
CHRONIC HEADACHES
Headaches are quite none specific as a symptom as they could be caused by a number of things. Sometimes being dehydrated or stressed is even enough to cause a headache. People with high blood pressure also have chronic headaches. However, headaches are one of the few symptoms that accompanies a brain tumor, so chronic headaches should never be ignored, especially in someone who rarely suffered headaches in the past. If you develop a chronic headache that is resistant to medications, it could be that a growth in the brain tumor is the cause, therefore it is always important to investigate chronic headaches.
These are just a few symptoms to bear in mind, there’ll be more to follow. Remember to pay attention to your body because sometimes the clues our bodies give us may not be very obvious but they are always there. If you notice anything unusual, it doesn’t hurt to schedule a visit with your doctor. It may very well be nothing but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
