ORLANDO, Fla. – About 1.9 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year in the United Sates.
Cancer can show up virtually anywhere in the body and cause a wide range of symptoms that can be obvious or more subtle. Cancer can affect anyone at any time, but spotting some of the less obvious symptoms early on may mean the difference between life and death.
“I wasn’t having trouble breathing, nothing like that. I would’ve never known,” said lung cancer survivor, Lisa Barbaro.
Many people don’t know they have lung cancer until it’s too late. One less known symptom is a chronic, dry cough.
Changes in your bathroom habits can also be a sign of various cancers, including colon, prostate, or bladder cancer. Watch for persistent constipation, diarrhea, black, bloody or tarry stools, frequent urination, or blood in the urine.
Excessive bruising could be an indicator that you have blood cancer. Bloating or feeling full can be a sign of ovarian cancer in women. Many women also believe that you’re not at risk for breast cancer if nobody in your family has ever had it.
“Eighty-five percent of our patients that are diagnosed with breast cancer do not have risk factors. They don’t have family members with breast cancer, breast cancers are sporadic,” Connie Lehman, MD, PhD, at Harvard Medical School said.
Difficulty swallowing is sometimes a symptom of throat, lung, or stomach cancer. Frequent high fevers or infections could indicate lymphoma or leukemia.
If something doesn’t feel right, see your doctor. The earlier you can spot and treat cancer, the better the outcome.
Other more general signs of cancer that you shouldn’t ignore are persistent fatigue, unexplained weight loss, or any pain that has no clear cause and doesn’t go away.