Five Cancer Symptoms People May Ignore

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Cancer is a dreaded disease that the general public doesn't want to have. However, there are people who have been unknowingly ignoring some of its symptoms.

People often brush cancer symptoms because cancer mimics the symptoms of other diseases, Reader's Digest reported. As such, experts say it would be best for them to be checked for confirmation.

“Most of the time it won’t be cancer, but get it checked because you never know,” Rich Wender, MD, chief cancer control officer for the American Cancer Society, told RD.

Here are five cancer symptoms that people might have ignored.

Persistent Cough or Hoarseness

Coughs are common and, most of the time, there's nothing to worry about it, Women's Health shared. However, persistent cough, especially if accompanied by blood, is something to be worried about.

"Most coughs are not cancer," Therese Bartholomew-Bevers, M.D., professor of clinical cancer prevention at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, said. "But certainly a persistent cough needs to be evaluated to see if it could be lung cancer."

Change in Bowel Habits

Prevention shared that, in a study led by Katriina Whitaker, a senior research fellow from University College London, 18% of 1,729 adults over 50 experienced changes in the timing, amount, or size of their bowels. The research showed that this is one of the symptoms that people overlooked.

While these can be caused by certain foods or medication, it could also be a sign of colon cancer.

Bleeding in your stool could also be a sign of colon cancer. Although bleeding could be caused by something benign such as hemorrhoids, bleeding during bowel movement is never normal. Dr. Wender said it's best checked.

Persistent Unexplained Pain

Bartholomew-Bevers stated that persistent pain should be checked, although it is not a common sign of cancer.

“Persistent pain in the chest could be a sign of lung cancer,” she said. “And pain in your abdomen could be ovarian cancer."

Persistent fatigue should be checked as well, Dr. Wender said. See a doctor if you feel consistently tired for more than a month or experience unusual shortness of breath.

Unexplained Weight Loss

American Cancer Society informed that, while losing weight could be a good thing if you're overweight or obese, unexplained weight loss is a different thing – and could be signs of pancreatic, stomach, lung or esophageal cancers.

Noticeable Skin Changes

Skin cancer, although one of the most common cancers in the U.S., is still one of the trickiest to recognize at an early stage, Dr. Wender revealed. “Skin cancer is a tough one—many people think freckles, moles, or a darker age spot is just like the others they’ve had,” he said.

Bartholomew-Bevers added that new spots or changes in existing marks is something that should be brought to a dermatologist for checking.