You might know that finding a lump
in your breast means you should have it looked at. But lumps in tissue
are not the only signs you need to be aware of when it comes to cancer. Odd or
unfamiliar symptoms, like swelling in your neck, skin sores that won't heal, or
unrelenting pain, deserve the same sort of vigilance.
There's no need to leap to hair-raising
conclusions—What if it's cancer?—when it could
easily be something else. But the sooner you know what's ailing you, the
quicker you and a healthcare provider can take appropriate action.
If you think something is amiss,
getting it checked out as early as possible is crucial. Cancers that are
detected early can be treated before they get a chance to spread other parts of
the body. Some cancer
screening procedures require seeing a healthcare provider, but you can also do self-examinations at
Depending on your symptoms, medical
history, and physical exam results, healthcare providers may order specific
diagnostic tests or procedures to look for cancer. If cancer is found, they can
also determine whether and how far it has spread.
We asked physicians specializing in
head-and-neck, gynecologic, breast, blood, lung, skin, and other malignancies
to describe little-known cancer symptoms you should know about. Some of these
indicators are surprising, and others are more intuitive, but none should ever
be ignored.
9 Breast Cancer Symptoms That
Aren't Lumps
Marc
Glashofer, MD, a board-certified, private-practice dermatologist
specializing in skin cancer in Northern New Jersey, told Health that
basal cell carcinomas sometimes have a pearly translucent or waxy appearance.
Other times these cancers look like sores, scaly patches, or cyst-like bumps.
"A lot of times people come in and
say, 'Hey, I've got this pimple on my cheek or my nose; it's not going
away.'" Usually, these cancers are slow-growing and highly treatable, said
Dr. Glashofer, adding that any bump persisting for six to eight weeks ought to
be checked out.
5 Signs of Skin Cancer Other Than
an Abnormal Mole
An annoying
lump-in-the-throat feeling often goes hand-in-hand with acid
reflux. But sometimes, that awkward sensation is telling you a tumor is
present.
"It's almost like, OK, did I
swallow a chicken bone? Is there a hair back there?" Bruce
Davidson, MD, professor and chairman of otolaryngology-head and neck
surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., told Health.
One patient bothered by this symptom saw multiple doctors over five years
before seeing Dr. Davidson, who found a tiny back-of-the-tongue cancer using a
scoping procedure.
Dr. Davidson said base-of-tongue and
tonsil tumors are on the rise due to human
papillomavirus infections, which are often acquired through oral sex.
HPV can lay dormant in the body for years before producing symptoms, added Dr.
Davidson, so people may not know they're even at risk of oral head-and-neck
cancer.
Screening
tests are used to find cancer before a person has any
symptoms. The American
Cancer Society offers screening guidelines for breast cancer, colon
and rectal cancer and polyps, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer,
and prostate cancer.
Some cancers,
like lymphomas, can make people extremely itchy. Lymphomas are types of cancer
that affect the lymph system (part of your immune system). They include Hodgkin
and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Regardless of the type, lymphomas can cause itchiness.
Itch is such a non-specific symptom
people often go from internist to dermatologist seeking relief, Craig
Moskowitz, MD, physician-in-chief for oncology at the University of Miami
Health System's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, told Health.
If you've seen the dermatologist or
sought a second opinion and "nobody can really figure out why you're
having generalized itching, you really need to pursue a possible diagnosis of
an underlying malignancy," said Dr. Moskowitz.
12 Reasons You Have Itchy Feet and
What To Do About It
What does it
mean when one ear constantly aches, but there's no sign of infection? It may not be
an ear problem at all. It might be "referred otalgia," meaning pain
that travels to the ear from nerves in the head or neck.5 Lots
of conditions can trigger this sort of ear discomfort. One of them is oral
cancer.
"An early cancer on the back of
the tongue or tonsil might have pretty subtle symptoms," explained Dr.
Davidson. Someone can have ear pain without other symptoms for weeks or months
before the oral cancer is uncovered, said Dr. Davidson.
It could also be a sign of a
later-stage mouth cancer that's "burrowing down and starting to interfere
with those nerves," said Dr. Davidson.
Spotting or
irregular periods may be due to a hormonal imbalance. It can also signal the
presence of uterine
fibroids or polyps. Sometimes, though, unusual bleeding is a sign of
endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is the more common type of uterine
cancer and can often be cured.
Stephen
Rubin, MD, chief of the division of gynecologic oncology at Fox Chase
Cancer Center in Philadelphia, told Health that
any abnormal bleeding should be promptly evaluated, especially after menopause
(because bleeding after menopause isn't normal) or before menopause in those
with risk factors for endometrial cancer, such as obesity.
Most endometrial cancers are diagnosed
at stage when they're "highly curable," said Dr. Rubin.
8 Reasons You're Spotting Between
Periods
A droopy
upper eyelid can be a sign of aging, injury, or disease (like stroke).
It can also alert healthcare providers to a so-called Pancoast tumor at the
very top of your lung.
A Pancoast tumor is a type of lung
cancer that begins in the upper part of a lung and spreads to nearby tissues
such as the ribs and vertebrae. Most Pancoast tumors are non-small cell cancers.
The majority of lung cancers are caused
by smoking. Being exposed to other cancer-causing agents, like asbestos, can
also increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
Unlike with other lung cancers, cough
is not an early symptom of a Pancoast tumor. One of the first signs can be
severe shoulder pain. Some people develop Horner's syndrome, a triad of
symptoms including a droopy eyelid, constricted pupil, and loss of sweating on
the same side of the face.9
Because of its location in the tip, or
apex, of the lung, a Pancoast tumor can irritate the nerve root to the eye and
the face, Abirami
Sivapiragasam, MD, a medical oncologist and assistant professor at State
University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, told Health.
A red, scaly
patch of skin does not need to cause alarm right away. If it's on a sun-exposed
area of your body and it's still there eight weeks later, don't assume it's eczema,
cautioned Dr. Glashofer. It could be a sign of squamous cell carcinoma.
This type of skin cancer sometimes has
a "warty-looking" or "dome-shaped" appearance. It commonly
appears on the head, neck, and back of the hands.10 Some
people tend to find it on the front of their legs from years and years of sun
exposure, said Dr. Glashofer.
Squamous cell carcinoma is almost
always curable when caught early.10
Blood in your
stool (if it's not caused by a hemorrhoid) is a classic sign
of colorectal cancer, the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S.
Anemia,
which can make you tired, lightheaded, and dizzy, can sometimes be the first
sign of this cancer. The reason? Colorectal cancers can bleed into the
digestive tract.
Rectal bleeding may not be easily
detectable. "It tends to be microscopic bleeding," explained Dr.
Moskowitz. Over time, blood loss can lead to low red blood cell counts.
Some people
temporarily lose their voice when they catch a bad cold. Hoarseness that
persists is a different matter and should be evaluated promptly.
Laryngeal cancer attacks tissues in the
voice box (larynx), which houses your vocal cords. This type of cancer might
also cause throat pain, ear pain, or a lump in the neck or throat. Cancer of
the larynx can also spread to the thyroid, trachea (windpipe), or esophagus.13
Check with a healthcare provider if you
have any of the following symptoms:
- A sore throat or cough that does not go away
- Trouble or pain when swallowing
- Ear pain
- A lump in the neck or throat
- A change or hoarseness in the voice
11 Signs It's More Serious Than
the Common Cold
Occasional
abdominal pain or bloating is a common complaint not specific to cancer. You
might have a GI problem, like irritable
bowel syndrome. In rare cases, though, bloating and pelvic discomfort are
signs of ovarian
cancer.
Ovarian cancer affects about 1.1
percent of people with ovaries over the course of their lifetime. Having a family
history of ovarian cancer can mean that you have an increased risk for
the disease.
5 Signs Your Bloating Could Be
Something Serious
A lump in
your neck could be caused by many things. Most often, lumps or swellings in
your neck are swollen
lymph nodes caused by bacterial or viral infections, cancer, or other
rare causes.
Lumps in the neck muscles can be caused
by injury or torticollis, a condition in which the neck muscles cause the
head to tilt, turn or rotate to the side. These lumps are usually found at the
front of the neck.
Sometimes a lump in the neck is caused
by the thyroid gland. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located in your
neck, is responsible for controlling a variety of bodily functions.16 Swelling
or lumps in the thyroid gland can be due to thyroid
disease or cancer.
All neck lumps in children and adults
should be checked right away by a healthcare provider. If you find one (or
more), keep in mind that most lumps in the throat of adults are not cancer.
However, the risk of throat cancer increases with age and in people who smoke
or drink large amounts of alcohol.
Unusual
breast changes (not just lumps) require immediate attention. Unusual, in this
sense, can mean breast swelling or dimpling of the skin. In general, you'll
want to watch out for the following signs and symptoms:
- Breast pain
- A new lump or thickening in the breast or armpit
area
- Changes in the size and shape of the breast
- Skin changes in the nipple area or breast,
including dimpling or puckering (think of the skin of an orange), scaling,
redness, and swelling
- A nipple that has turned inward
- Nipple discharge (more on this below)
The types of breast cancer include
ductal carcinoma, lobular carcinoma, inflammatory breast cancer, and Paget's
disease of the breast.
What Is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?
Nipple
crusting and discharge can also be signs of breast cancer. By discharge, we're
not talking about breast milk. We're talking about other nipple discharge that
can happen suddenly, be bloody, or happen only in one breast.
Skin changes affecting your nipple and
areola can be easily mistaken for eczema or dermatitis. However, Paget's
disease, a rare breast cancer, can also cause itching, tingling, flaking, and
crusting of the skin, along with bloody or yellowish discharge.
Symptoms of Paget's disease of the
breast can be found on the skin of the nipple and, usually, the darker
circle of skin around it, called the areola:
- Itching, tingling, or redness in the nipple
and/or areola
- Flaking, crusty, or thickened skin on or around
the nipple
- A flattened nipple
- Discharge from the nipple that may be yellowish
or bloody
"Eventually, if you don't address
it, it can progress," said Dr. Sivapiragasam.
Bone pain may
be the result of an injury, infection, or osteoporosis.
Or, it can be a sign of cancer.
Unexplained bone pain, especially in
the spine, pelvis, and ribs, may be a symptom of multiple
myeloma. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. Normal plasma cells
are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system.
Bone or joint pain in people who have
symptoms such as fever, fatigue, or weight loss can be a
sign of leukemia, a type of blood and bone marrow cancer.
You can get a
hangover from drinking large amounts of alcohol. But, in rare cases,
unexplained pain after consuming alcohol suggests a diagnosis of Hodgkin
lymphoma, a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes.
Lymphocytes are part of the body’s immune system.
A published case study describes a
31-year-old man who experienced severe pain moments after taking just two to
three sips of alcohol. He'd had the same reaction for three months, with no
pain after swallowing other liquids or food. A biopsy of a lymph node confirmed
his diagnosis.
"Usually, these patients can have
some swollen lymph nodes in the neck or the chest," said Dr. Moskowitz.
Alcohol consumption seems to induce pain in these lumps.
Hodgkin lymphoma can start almost
anywhere in the body. The most common sites are the lymph nodes in the chest,
neck, or under the arms.
Feeling like
you need to pee all the time? Or all of a sudden? Urinary symptoms are common
with urinary
tract infections, overactive bladder, or type 2 diabetes. They can also
occur with bladder cancer, which is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S.
As for blood in the urine, it can
signal a nasty urinary tract infection that's traveled to the bladder. Or it
can be a sign of a kidney
stone. Less commonly, bloody urine is a symptom of bladder or kidney cancer.
Kidney cancer is one of the 10 most
common cancers in the U.S. However, it is about twice as common in men than in
women. The average age of people when they are diagnosed is 64 years. Kidney
cancer is very uncommon in people younger than age 45.
Keep in mind
that not every new symptom you experience will be cancer. Nonetheless, you
should pay close attention to changes in your body and new symptoms, including
pain.
Bring any changes to the attention of a
healthcare provider. Healthcare providers can take a complete medical history,
do a physical exam, or order diagnostic tests to determine what's going on. The
sooner you see a healthcare provider, the sooner you can put your mind at ease
and/or get appropriate treatment.
In addition, don't skip regular
screenings. The importance of regular cancer screening cannot be understated.
Some cancers can be found early, before they have had a chance to grow and
spread.
9 Things To Know Before Your First
Mammogram
Some
symptoms, such as a lump in the breast or suspicious moles, create a sense of
urgency in us as they can be warning signs of cancer. The only way to know for
sure what they are is to see a healthcare provider.
Any new or unfamiliar symptoms—from
swelling in your neck, ear pain, or skin sores—warrant a visit to a healthcare
provider. Whether the symptom is cancer or not, the sooner you get diagnosed,
the quicker you and a healthcare provider can take appropriate action.
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