Human bodies are made up of tiny cells, most of which keep dividing – which is how bodies grow and adapt. If a cell divides more quickly than it’ s supposed to, the cells become malignant, which leads to tissue growing too fast and out of control. This out-of-control growth is called cancer (also often called malignancy, tumour or growth), which can stay in the organ where it started growing or spread to other areas in your body – usually through your blood. When the latter happens, experts call a distant new outbreak of cancer metastasis.
Because you may have read about cancer, seen a programme about it on television or you know someone who suffers or died from cancer, you can worry that a new symptom you develop may be due to cancer. You’ re not alone – in fact, many people worry that their symptoms must be due to cancer. The opposite is also true, in that many people who show symptoms of cancer are often not aware that these signals can indicate serious illness – or are too embarrassed to mention it to a health professional.
Being able to spot the signs of cancer is important. Although cancer is a serious – and often very frightening – diagnosis, powerful treatments have emerged in recent years that are able to cure cancers – provided that the diagnosis is made early. Generally speaking, the earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better the chances of a cure. The cure rates also depend on other things, such as how malignant a cancer is (different degrees exist, depending on the type of cell that’ s growing out of control) and where exactly it’ s located, but early diagnosis remains vital.
Although you can see or feel certain cancers (for example, you can typically feel breast cancer and cancer of the testicle as a new lump, and skin cancer you can actually see), other cancers such as cancer of the blood or those located deeper inside your body may be suspected only because of the symptoms they cause. Research shows that these more ‘hidden’ cancers are frequently diagnosed late, partly because of their location and partly because many people aren’t aware of the danger symptoms and signs. So, in this section I give you an overview of important symptoms and signs that may sometimes indicate underlying cancer. Don’ t worry, you don’ t need to be able to diagnose cancer yourself, but just know what early features suggest that you need to see your doctor, who can do the ‘diagnosis bit’ .
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you should know that developing any of the symptoms and signs doesn’ t necessarily mean that you have cancer – they only mean that seeking medical advice from your doctor to find out what’ s causing them is a really good idea.
