Negosentro | Common Cancer Symptoms Often Missed By Doctors | Cancer is one of the world’s biggest killers and billions of dollars a year is spent on treatment, yet still many people die due to misdiagnosis or missing early signs and symptoms. Here are some of the common cancer symptoms that doctors often overlook.
Fatigue
This symptom is difficult to recognize as an indication of cancer as so many people feel fatigued for a number of reasons. Doctors can often misdiagnose this as a symptom of stress, overwork, or as the result of another illness like flu or a virus.
Fatigue can be a symptom of leukemia in its early stages, or a sign of late-stage stomach cancer as blood loss can lead to feelings of fatigue. Look here for more info on cancer misdiagnoses and what you can do about them as a patient or as a close relative of one. Misdiagnoses can cause premature death, and put people and their families through enormous amounts of distress.
Sudden Weight Loss
Many doctors misdiagnose this symptom as the result of another, more common health problem. There are a variety of reasons to lose weight, and many people are also actively trying to reduce their weight and become fitter. Weight loss is common in healthy people too, making it easy to overlook as a symptom of any illness.
Sudden weight loss of 10 pounds or more may be a symptom of stomach, lung, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers. This symptom should be accompanied by other, stronger indicators of these cancers to help doctors make the correct diagnosis.
Headaches And Body Pain
Both of these symptoms are incredibly common and could be the result of something as simple as dehydration. They can also be indicators of various cancers at various stages. Any persistent head or body ache should be investigated by a doctor and taken into consideration with any other symptoms.
These symptoms, and many others on this list, can be the result of a huge number of other ailments and diseases. This can make it very difficult to diagnose illness accurately without the presence of other symptoms.
Lumps And Thickened Skin
A clear and common symptom of cancer is a lump under the skin or a patch of thickened skin that does not move easily. Both can cause discomfort but they may also be painless, so it is important to check your body and its skin regularly and look for lumps or toughened patches of skin.
These skin problems are common symptoms of skin cancers, but lumps in some parts of the body can be a symptom of other types of cancer such as breast or testicular cancer if found in those areas.
Lumps under the arms and near the lymph nodes can be a symptom of a variety of cancers or that cancer is spreading through the body. Lumps and tough skin can also be completely benign and pose no threat whatsoever, making it more likely a doctor will dismiss the symptom.
If you are worried about a symptom and feel your doctor is misdiagnosing the problem, always get a second opinion. If a second doctor agrees then this can be reassuring, but they may make the correct diagnosis and save your life.
