Cancer can affect anyone and in 2019 there were an estimated 1.6 million newly diagnosed cases in the world. Even though many types of cancer have different survival rates, they all need early detection and diagnosis. Cancer has different symptoms and in this article, we look at 10 overlooked cancer symptoms you should never ignore.
1. Pelvic Pain
Pelvic pain can have different causes one of them being ovarian cancer. The worst thing about ovarian cancer is that it goes unnoticed until it reaches the pelvis or the abdomen. When detected in its early stages it’s easier to treat. Other symptoms include bloating, frequent urination and weight loss.
2. Problems swallowing
Cancer can cause a tumor that may block your throat. This may cause difficulties in swallowing food. If you experience pain when swallowing food then seek medical attention to establish the cause. You must note that some cancer types affect your head and your neck.
3. Night sweating
Many conditions may lead to night sweats which include diabetes. However, night sweating is also a symptom of some types of cancer. Unless you are in a relatively warm place any type of night sweating should make you seek medical attention. When cancer is involved in your night sweats other symptoms such as loss of weight and fever come hand in hand.
4. Blurred vision
Blurred vision is another possible symptom of cancer. When you have cancer in many cases you will experience blurred vision while in other cases you will have a complete loss of vision. In this case, blurred vision is always accompanied by loss of balance, visual hallucinations or even poor judgment. Note that not all cases of blurred vision may be a cancer symptom. Blurred vision maybe is caused by other causes such as cataracts.
5. Stomach pains
Stomach pains can be caused by many things such as food poisoning, ulcers, and many others. However, stomach pains/ nausea can be symptoms of stomach cancer. Just in case your stomach pains are accompanied by weight loss, poor appetite, blood in stool and swelling then you need to urgently visit a health center. Statistically only 1 out of 5 cases is detected early.
6. Incontinence
Some types of cancer affect your nerves and muscles in your urinary tract. These are mainly cancers that occur in or around your pelvic area. These are cancers such as cancer of the urethra, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer or colorectal cancer. Brain cancer can also affect your nerves. Therefore if you have any issues with your nerves it’s important to seek medical attention.
7. Blood in your stool
Blood in stool goes unnoticed on many occasions but it’s one of the main symptoms of colorectal cancer. In any case, if you experience belly pain, feel weak or have issues with your bowels then see a doctor.
8. Anemia
Red blood cells of patients with cancer wear out faster than normal red blood cells. This mainly happens when you have cancer that leads to a lot of bleeding or massive blood loss. When your hemoglobin drops so low then you get anemia. Therefore when you have Anemia issues you need to test for possible cancer because it’s a likely symptom.
9. Hoarseness
Hoarseness is a symptom that is mainly associated with lung cancer. Its main cause is the weakening of laryngeal nerves. When hoarseness is associated with lung cancer other symptoms include chest pains, fatigue, wheezing and persistent cough.
10. Sores that take long to heal or ones that don’t heal
Sores are the main symptoms of skin cancer. Just in case you have sores that take long to heal or ones that are not healing at all then that is a possible cause of skin cancer. The most common sores are the mouth sores. They are mainly associated with smoking and excessive alcohol abuse.
It’s good to seek a professional opinion when you have any abnormal issues. It doesn’t have to be a cancer scare but it important to listen to your body for any alerts. When cancer is detected early there are very high chances of survival and therefore is important to go for regular checkups.
