Cancer Symptoms

Cancer is a devastating condition which is the result of the mechanism of cell replication going wrong. During cell replication, a mistake is made in “oncogenes” which make the next cell abnormal and all subsequent cells following that one. These cells grouped together are called a “cancer tumor” and this is what often precipitates the primary cancer symptoms.

Cancer symptoms vary and are very specific to where the cancer is. Cancer can literally affect any region or tissue of the body and each specific cancer acts and show itself differently. In some cases even among individuals with the same cancer.

For example, a cancer of the blood (leukemias, lymphomas) will exhibit different symptoms than an advanced cancer tumor symptom (i.e. from stomach, esophageal, brain, uterine, bladder, liver).

Beginning as a small mass of cells which may produce no tangible symptoms at all, cancers may grow to very large sizes, undetected, depending on their type and location in the body.

Generally once a cancer grows to a size large enough to affect surrounding blood vessels, nerves, or encroach on other organ systems or tissues, does it become symptomatic.

Some of the most common cancers over the past 20 years have been breast, colon, lung, cervical, ovarian, and prostate.

Some less common cancers are testicular, bone, pancreatic, thyroid, skin, throat, and mesothelioma cancers.

The resulting early symptom may be a lump, pain or discomfort, which is typically the first symptom many people would experience.

Other common early symptoms are bleeding, depression, weight loss and fatigue.

Several cancer types are outlined below where more specific symptoms can be addressed.

Certainly, early detection and treatment of cancers is critical. Unfortunately, it is often only when a cancer symptom presents itself that individuals learn they have cancer and seek treatment. As cancers are the number one killer in developed countries it is of the utmost importance that you are aware of how to look for symptoms.