Seven Signals: The Most Common Warning Signs of Cancer In Your Body 

Ignoring our worst fears is normal and few medical conditions scare people as much as cancer. Unfortunately, putting off a cancer screening could mean forgoing one of the best cancer survival tools available: early detection.   

This year around two million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. Over 600,000 will die from the disease. The good news is that survival rates are improving. The death rate from cancer has fallen by one-third since 1991. Some of the progress has come from fewer people smoking and new, innovative treatments. However, early detection is one of the biggest reasons that so many cancers are now survivable. It’s also one of the best ways of preventing cancer from spreading. 

Getting a cancer diagnosis is scary but it’s better than the alternative. That’s why it’s important to know the early warning signs of cancer in your body. Today there’s even a cutting edge test designed to uncover cancer-specific markers from just a few drops of blood. Read on to learn more about the seven warning signs of cancer and how to access this screening tool if you have one of them.

The Origins of Cancer

Normally healthy cells divide regularly. These new cells are created to meet the body’s needs. At the same time, old, damaged, or otherwise unnecessary cells die off. This natural process is repeated many thousands of times every day. Unfortunately, sometimes these damaged cells begin to multiply – forming tumors. Most tumors are benign and easily removed. Occasionally, these tumors are cancerous. 

These damaged cells are created by changes in our genes. Cancer can be caused by exposure to toxic substances like tobacco smoke or even sunlight. Our body’s tendency to produce these damaged cells can even be inherited. As we get older, our bodies become less efficient at purging damaged cells which is why it’s especially important for older people to become familiar with the seven warning signs of cancer.

Although damaged DNA can lead to cancer, identifying healthy DNA could be the key to preventing it. The Galleri test was spurred on by the surprising development in 2015 of a non-invasive prenatal test that also revealed genomic abnormalities in pregnant mothers. It did this by revealing cell-free DNA from cancer in their blood. This discovery led to the GRAIL research which focused on a blood test that could discover cancer in patients and hopefully succeed in preventing cancer from spreading. 

Today the Galleri test examines over 100,000 DNA regions and over a million specific DNA sites as it seeks out a common cancer marker. You’ll need to work with a doctor to get access to this test, but by downloading the Kyla app you’ll be able to order it from your phone or tablet. 

Left untreated cancerous tumors can metastasize – spreading to other parts of the body. This is thankfully quite rare. Most of the time these damaged cells don’t pose a threat. Other times the cancer spreads so slowly that it never becomes an issue – as with most prostate cancer. For men, this is the most common cancer followed by lung, and colorectal cancers with the top three responsible for almost half of all cancers diagnosed. More than half of all cancers diagnosed in women are breast, colorectal and lung cancer. Unfortunately, rates of breast and prostate cancer have risen recently.

Just as early detection and keeping an eye out for looking for warning signs of cancer in your body can reduce risk, sometimes changes to screening protocols can increase it. Some doctors believe this is what has happened with prostate cancer screenings. In an effort to reduce anxiety-inducing false positives and aggressive treatments for a generally slow-growing cancer, younger men are usually no longer being screened. This has reduced the number of screenings but it may have had the effect of delaying treatment and increasing risk. 

“While I greatly appreciate the importance of aligning the benefits of cancer screening with possible harm and the costs of the available screening tests, in the case of screening for prostate cancer, the increase in disease incidence is very strong evidence the current guidelines need to be revised to support a more liberal screening strategy,” Dr. Maurie Markman, MD, President of Medicine & Science at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) explained on the City of Hope Cancer Center website. 

Although the ages where breast cancer screening occurs has also been modified, for women increases in these cancers have been linked more to fewer women breastfeeding (partly because fertility rates are also dropping) and breastfeeding is effective at preventing cancer. Breast cancer numbers have also risen amid the growing numbers of women who are overweight (because being overweight or obese increase the risk for many cancers including breast cancer.)

While some cancers can be symptom free, there are some common warning signs of cancer in your body. Knowing yourself well may be the best defense. Be aware of any sudden changes in how you feel. Pay attention to shifts in your regularity or appetite. Keep in mind there are some simple tests for common health issues that along with a visit to your doctor can rule out cancer. The first step is visiting Kyla online, There you will be able to complete a simple, online health quiz which will highlight areas in your health that need improvement. The quiz can also help you find the best at-home test for you. 

Not only does Kyla’s at-home tests give you information about inflammation markers which indicate cancer risk, you’ll also discover how well your liver and kidneys are functioning, along with vitamin deficiencies and details about your hormone and blood sugar levels. Many companies charge hundreds of dollars for similar tests. Kyla’s primary care panel is just $99 – and that cost may be covered by insurance. 

A few days after ordering your blood test kit, you’ll receive it along with easy-to-follow instructions for sample collection. After collecting a blood sample, return it to our labs postage free. The results will deliver insights into whether or not you have an elevated risk for cancer. And by downloading the Kyla App, and speaking with a doctor in Kyla’s Dedicated Health Program, you may also be able to access the Galleri test. By learning how to make nutrition and lifestyle enhancements while setting goals and taking action every day to help achieve them, you’ll be completing valuable steps on your quest towards preventing cancer. 

Remember, if you have any of the following seven warning signs of cancer, you need to speak with your doctor immediately. Cancer treatment is often more successful when the disease is discovered early. Procrastinating could give the cancer time to spread, which might require more aggressive and life-altering cancer treatments.

1. Changes in Weight or Appetite 

One of the most reliable and common early warning signs for cancer is a change in weight or appetite. Sometimes a tumor can affect appetite because it’s near the digestive tract. This can make it more difficult to eat. Swallowing might become uncomfortable. You might feel full sooner than you usually do. Cancer can also trigger appetite-suppressing hormones. Some tumors affect our sense of smell which can reduce our desire for food. 

Weight loss is a common result of eating less, but sometimes it occurs even without changes in diet. A new study suggests that sudden, unplanned weight loss is one of strongest warning signs of cancer in your body. The study concluded that, “Recent weight loss was associated with a significantly higher rate of cancer during the next 12 months compared with those without recent weight loss.”

As Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber and Director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research and the study’s lead investigator explained in an article on the Dana-Farber website, “If you are losing weight and you aren’t trying to lose weight by making changes in your exercise routine or diet, people should see their doctor to consider possible causes. There are many conditions that can result in unexpected weight loss. Your doctor can determine if there is something that needs evaluation.”

Depression and stress can also affect appetite. It’s important to see a doctor to identify the cause and whether or not it is cancer. 

2. Nighttime Issues From Insomnia To Sweating

Along with losing more than 10% of your body weight, night sweats are so common in cancer diagnosis that they are considered B symptoms along with fever. Fever and night sweats are two of the warning signs of cancer in your body. They are often a sign of lymphoma. Night sweats are not a modest amount of perspiration from too many blankets. Rather it’s a complete soaking that leaves you feeling like you slept in a swimming pool with pillows left unusable due to moisture. This is also an early warning sign for leukemia. 

Keep in mind that night sweats are not a definitive warning sign. They could also indicate hormonal changes. If you’re concerned about your hormones, getting them tested is simple thanks to Kyla’s at-home testing program. 

Of course if you exercise, keep your room uncomfortably warm, drink hot beverages or eat spicy food right before bedtime, sweating is a likely result. Feeling more fatigued than usual or experiencing insomnia is also one of the warning signs of cancer. Fatigue is partly due to your body’s efforts to combat the condition along with the way tumors increase steroid production which can cause insomnia. Over half of all cancer patients report experiencing sleep disruption of some type; in one study of breast cancer patients as many as 70% reported having insomnia with many of them also experiencing fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression. 

Insomnia and fatigue can be due to many issues but as they are also one of the seven warning signs of cancer. They should not be ignored. If you’ve been having trouble sleeping for more than a few weeks and/or feel exhausted during the day then it’s important that you see a doctor as soon as possible.

3. Pain That Doesn’t Go Away; Cuts That Don’t Heal

Chronic pain is often linked to the presence of a growing tumor. Although cuts that don’t heal have long been known as one of the warning signs of cancer in the body, recent discoveries have shown that cancer cells actually use the same pathways as cells utilized for wound healing. Cancer cells generally have a tough time surviving in isolation. After detaching from neighboring cells and breaking through other cells barricading their way to the circulatory system, they follow the same path set by cells sent to treat cuts. These cancerous cells join in with the similarly isolated wound-healing calls. Or as Karuna Ganesh, a physician-scientist in the Molecular Pharmacology Program at Sloan Kettering Institute who authored a paper on the topic puts it, “Metastasis is wound healing gone wrong.”

If you’re troubled by a slow-healing cut or have experienced new pains that don’t diminish (and seem disconnected from any physical event) it’s time to speak with a doctor. 

4. Problems in the Bathroom 

Being aware of changes in your body is vital for preventing cancer. If you are suddenly constipated, or have a persistently upset stomach, you should know that this is among the seven warning signs of cancer. Vaginal bleeding – especially after menopause – is another common cancer warning sign. So too is discovering blood in your stool or urine. If any of these are affecting you, make an appointment with your healthcare provider. 

5. Persistent fever or cough

One of the more common warning signs for lung cancer is a cough that doesn’t go away. While coughs and fevers can be symptoms for many different illnesses, it’s the persistence that matters. So, if your cough or fever doesn’t abate it’s important to see a doctor. However, as with many other cancers, lung cancer doesn’t always have symptoms. 

Although fevers can be the body’s natural reaction to an infection – and a sign that your immune system is functioning well, cancer can also cause a fever. This is because tumors can create a substance that triggers fever in your body. This substance, pyrogens, can also come from exposure to toxins, drugs, for bacteria, viruses, or fungi. 

6. Changes in a mole’s shape, size, or color 

Common moles are just that – common, every day and a part of most people’s skin. Although rare, moles can sometimes become cancerous melanomas. To discover if this, one of the seven warning signs of cancer, is a cause for concern doctors refer to an easy-to-remember, alphabet test. With ABCDE, it’s possible to detect melanoma. If the mole is Asymmetrical, has an irregular, ragged Border, possibly with its pigment spreading to the skin along with uneven Color, it may be early stage melanoma. It’s important to check the Diameter which may be changing in size — growing to more than six millimeters or one-quarter inch wide. Finally, the mole is Evolving. This is why being conscientious about your body and its changes is so vital. Awareness is the only way to know if the mole is evolving – changing shape, size, or other characteristics in a short period of time – often in just a few weeks. 

Although skin cancer can occur in moles,it more often happens on normal skin. More serious, life-threatening melanomas are more often diagnosed on those with dark skin. That’s why self-checking is so important. When skin cancer is found early, at its very beginning stages, it has a 99% survival rate.

7.  Enlarged Lymph Nodes

You can find your lymph nodes in your armpits, groin, head, and neck where they act as early signals that there are problems in your body. These nodes often swell individually when the body fights infection, or all at once if you have contracted HIV or mononucleosis. When your lymph nodes are swollen and also hard, rubbery, or don’t move when you push on them, then they are one of the seven warning signs of cancer. If you have a lymph node that has remained swollen without abating for several weeks, it’s important to see a doctor. Often swollen lymph nodes return to normal without treatment. 

Cancer diagnoses can only be made by a doctor, after a series of tests that can include blood work and biopsies. The Galleri test is an early screening tool ideal for anyone with an elevated risk for cancer. Although genetics and ethnic background can increase cancer risk, anyone over the age of 50 should consider cancer screenings as cancer qrisk rises with age. If you are obese, have type 2 diabetes, or were once a tobacco smoker (or are one currently) this test is ideal. Remember, for most cancers survivability increases with early detection. Currently there are screening tools available for five different cancers. Unfortunately, there are no recommended screeners for the cancers which cause more than 70% of the deaths from the condition. So download the Kyla app, schedule your doctor appointment and look into getting the Galleri test today. If you are not in California, consult your primary care provider about it.

Sources:

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