How to spot cancer early?

Detecting cancer at an early stage helps to save lives. It can be treated successfully if it is diagnosed earlier. There are several types of cancers and each one of them comes with different symptoms.  Knowing your body can help to recognize unusual changes easily. Thus it is important to know your own body and build a healthy relationship with it; this can help you stay aware of any changes taking place in the body.

Knowing Your Body

Know what’s normal for your body. Notice how every part of the body feels and looks. Identify any unusual changes in the body and if any unfamiliar changes are found, take the assistance of a medical professional.

Cancer Screening

Cancer screening means detecting the presence of cancer before you have any symptoms. Getting screening tests done at regular intervals helps to identify several types of cancers like breast cancer, cervical, colorectal, ovarian, and oral cancer. Cancer screening is done with the aim to diagnose cancer at an early stage and to reduce the chances of mortality.

Don’t ignore these symptoms

These are some of the signs and symptoms of cancer:

• Persistent cough or blood in sputum while coughing may indicate the presence of lung cancer and needs to be evaluated.
• Blood in the Urine- Blood in the urine can be a warning sign of kidney or bladder cancer. But, sometimes it could also happen because of kidney stones or bladder stones or urinary infection.
• Lump in breast and neck - Lumps found in the breast cannot be ignored. Although most lumps are benign tumors such as cysts, any abnormality in the breast has to be examined by a doctor. Lumps found in the neck could be an infection, but it can also be a warning sign of throat, thyroid, mouth, and larynx cancer. If lump starts to grow abnormally, consult a doctor.
• Extreme Fatigue- It is one of the most common symptoms of cancer. If a person feels extremely tired even after taking proper rest, see your doctor.
• Persistent or swollen lymph nodes- Lymph nodes swell due to infections and may take weeks to normalize. If the swelling stays for more than three to four weeks, it should be tested.
• Weight loss or night sweats- Weight loss, night sweats are common but these can also be a symptom of cancers like lymphoma.
• Back pain or pelvic pain- These are common problems of day to day life and are caused due to unavoidable stress and strain, thanks to our fast-paced lifestyles.  But severe back pain can be one of the first symptoms of cancer in many patients especially those with breast cancer or prostate cancer.

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