Cancer Symptoms You Need to Know

Symptoms of Cancer
A broad spectrum of non-specific cancer symptoms may include:

    Persistent Fatigue: Fatigue is one of the most commonly experienced cancer symptoms. It is usually more common when the cancer is advanced, but still occurs in the early stages of some cancers. Anemia is commonly the culprit -- a condition that is associated with many types of cancer, especially types affecting the bowel. Fatigue is a symptom of both malignant and non-malignant conditions and should be evaluated by a physician.



    Unintentional Weight Loss: While it may be a welcome surprise to lose weight without trying, it can be a red flag for many illnesses, including cancer. Losing 10 pounds or more unintentionally definitely warrants a visit to the doctor. This type of weight loss can occur with or without loss of appetite. Remember, weight loss can be a symptom of cancer, but is also a symptom of many other illnesses, too.


    Pain Typically, pain is not an early symptom of cancer, except in some cancer types like those that spread to the bone. Pain generally occurs when cancer spreads and begins to affect other organs and nerves.


    Lower pack pain is cancer symptom that is associated with ovarian cancer and colon cancer. Shoulder pain can also be a symptom of lung cancer. Pain in the form of headaches can be associated with brain tumors (malignant and benign).


    Stomach pains can be related to types of cancer, like stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and many others. Stomach pain can be a very vague symptom because so many illnesses can cause stomach pain.






    Fever: A fever is a very non-specific symptom of many mild to severe conditions, including cancer. In relation to cancer, a fever that is persistent or one that comes and goes frequently can signal stress on the immune system. Fevers are commonly associated with types of cancer that affects the blood, like leukemia and lymphoma, but are also common in people whose cancer has spread.

    Bowel Changes: If you experience constipation, diarrhea, blood in the stools, gas, thinner stools, or just a general overall change in bowel habits, see your doctor. These symptoms are most commonly associated with colon cancer, but are also related to other cancer types.

    Chronic Cough: A persistent, new cough or a cough that won't go away or becomes worse needs to be evaluated by a doctor. Blood and/or mucus may accompany the cough and can be caused many conditions. In relation to cancer, a chronic cough with blood or mucus can be symptom of lung cancer.




Keep in mind that these are very general, vague symptoms of cancer. If you have one or two of these symptoms, it is not a red flag for cancer but more an indication to your doctor to run certain medical tests. The symptoms listed above are experienced by most people with cancer at various stages of their disease, but are also linked to many other non-cancerous conditions.

Types of Cancer

Cancer is a broad term used to encompass several malignant diseases. There are over 100 different types of cancer, affecting various parts of the body. Each type of cancer is unique with its own causes, symptoms, and methods of treatment. Like with all groups of disease, some types of cancer are more common than others. 

Common Types of Cancer
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and women. Over one million cases are diagnosed each year, with more young people having skin cancer than ever before. The most common types of cancer in the United States based on frequency of diagnosis are:

    bladder cancer
    breast cancer
    colon cancer
    endometrial cancer
    kidney cancer (renal cell)
    leukemia
    lung cancer
    melanoma
    non-Hodgkin lymphoma
    pancreatic cancer
    prostate cancer
    thyroid cancer


Types of Cancer Classified by Body System
Cancer has the potential to affect every organ in the body. The cells within malignant tumors have the ability to invade neighboring tissues and organs, thus spreading the disease. It is also possible for cancerous cells to break free from the tumor and enter the bloodstream, in turn spreading the disease to other organs. This process of spreading is called metastasis.

When cancer has metastasized and has affected other areas of the body, the disease is still referred to the organ of origination. For instance, if cervical cancer spreads to the lungs, it is still called cervical cancer, not lung cancer.

Blood Cancer: The cells in the bone marrow that give rise to red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets can sometimes become cancerous. These cancers are leukemia or lymphoma.

    Leukemia
    Lymphoma
    Multiple Myeloma
    Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia

Bone Cancer: Bone cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer that can affect both children and adults, but primarily affects children and teens. There are several types of bone cancer, but the most common types are:

    Ewing's Sarcoma
    Osteosarcoma



Brain Cancer: Brain tumors can be malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous). They affect both children and adults. Malignant brain tumors don't often spread beyond the brain. However, other types of cancer have the ability to spread to the brain. Types of brain cancer include:

    Adult Brain Tumor
    Brain Stem Glioma, Childhood
    Cerebellar Astrocytoma, Childhood
    Cerebral Astrocytoma/Malignant Glioma, Childhood
    Ependymoma, Childhood
    Medulloblastoma, Childhood
    Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors and Pineoblastoma, Childhood
    Visual Pathway and Hypothalamic Glioma, Childhood

Breast Cancer: Breast cancer is a common type of cancer that affects women and much less commonly, men. More than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year. Types of breast cancer include, but are not limited to:

    ductal carcinoma in situ
    lobular carcinoma in situ
    inflammatory breast cancer
    Paget's disease of the nipple
    Invasive types of breast cancer


Digestive/Gastrointestinal Cancers This is a broad category of cancer that affects everything from the esophagus to the anus. Each type is specific and has its own symptoms, causes, and treatments.

    Anal Cancer
    Bile Duct Cancer, Extrahepatic
    Carcinoid Tumor, Gastrointestinal
    Colon Cancer
    Esophageal Cancer
    Gallbladder Cancer
    Liver Cancer, Adult Primary
    Liver Cancer, Childhood
    Pancreatic Cancer
    Rectal Cancer
    Small Intestine Cancer
    Stomach (Gastric) Cancer

Endocrine Cancers: The endocrine system is an instrumental part of the body that is responsible for glandular and hormonal activity. Thyroid cancer is the most common of the endocrine cancer types and generally, the least fatal.

    Adrenocortical Carcinoma
    Carcinoid Tumor, Gastrointestinal
    Islet Cell Carcinoma (Endocrine Pancreas)
    Parathyroid Cancer
    Pheochromocytoma
    Pituitary Tumor
    Thyroid Cancer




Eye Cancer: Like other organs in the human body, the eyes are vulnerable to cancer as well. Eye cancer can affect both children and adults.

    Melanoma, Intraocular
    Retinoblastoma


Genitourinary Cancers: These types of cancer affect the male genitalia and urinary tract.

    Bladder Cancer
    Kidney (Renal Cell) Cancer
    Penile Cancer
    Prostate Cancer
    Renal Pelvis and Ureter Cancer, Transitional Cell
    Testicular Cancer
    Urethral Cancer
    Wilms' Tumor and Other Childhood Kidney Tumors


Gynecologic Cancers: This group of cancer types affect the organs of the female reproductive system. Specialized oncologists called gynecologic oncologists are recommended for treating gynecologic cancer.

    Cervical Cancer
    Endometrial Cancer
    Gestational Trophoblastic Tumor
    Ovarian Cancer
    Uterine Sarcoma
    Vaginal Cancer
    Vulvar Cancer


Head and Neck Cancer: Most head and neck cancers affect moist mucosal surfaces of the head and neck, like the mouth, throat, and nose. Causes of head and neck cancer vary, but cigarette smoking plays a role. Current research suggests a strong HPV link in the development of some head and neck cancer.

    Hypopharyngeal Cancer
    Laryngeal Cancer
    Lip and Oral Cancer
    Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer
    Nasopharyngeal Cancer
    Oropharyngeal Cancer
    Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity Cancer
    Parathyroid Cancer
    Salivary Gland Cancer


Respiratory Cancers: Cigarette smoking is the primary cause for cancer affecting the respiratory system. Exposure to asbestos is also a factor.

    Lung Cancer, Non-Small Cell
    Lung Cancer, Small Cell
    Malignant Mesothelioma
    Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma


Skin Cancers:
Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common type of cancer among men and women. Exposure to the UV rays of the sun is the primary cause for non-melanoma skin cancer and also melanoma.

    Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
    Kaposi's Sarcoma
    Melanoma
    Merkel Cell Carcinoma
    Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer affecting the membrane lining of the lungs and abdomen.


Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Although uncommon, mesothelioma cancer is no longer considered rare. The primary cause and risk factor for mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.




Making a correct mesothelioma diagnosis is particularly difficult for doctors because the disease often presents with symptoms that mimic other common ailments. There is no known cure for mesothelioma, but treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy have helped to improve the typical mesothelioma prognosis.


Pleural mesothelioma (affecting the lung’s protective lining in the chest cavity) represents about three quarters of all mesothelioma incidence. Peritoneal mesothelioma which affects the abdominal cavity and pericardial mesothelioma, which affects the cardiac cavity, comprise the remainder. Testicular mesothelioma is extremely rare and is typically presents with metastases of the peritoneal variety. There are three recognized mesothelioma cell-types. Between 50 and 70% of all mesotheliomas are of the epithelial variety. While prognosis is generally poor, it is considered less aggressive than sarcomatoid mesothelioma and biphasic mesothelioma, which comprise the remainder of cell type diagnoses.

The cavities within the body encompassing the chest, abdomen, and heart are surround by a membrane of cells known as the mesothelium. Mesothelial cells assist in general organ functions. The mesothelium is particularly important to organs that are commonly in motion, such as expansion or contraction of the lungs, stomach, or heart. Lubrication from the mesothelial cells allows free range of motion within the body. The mesothelium of the chest, abdomen, and cardiac cavity are called the pleura, the peritoneum, and the pericardium, respectively. Each of these groupings of mesothelial cells are extremely critical to the functions of the body structures which they encompass.


Malignancies (cancerous tumors) occurring within the mesothelial membranes are known as malignant mesothelioma, or simply mesothelioma. Benign tumors of the mesothelium are known to occur, but are much rarer than the more common malignant cancer.


While tumors of the mesothelium were first recognized in the late 18th century, it was not until the middle of the 20th century that this particular cancer was studied and examined with more detail. It was at this time where suspicions of the cancer’s causal relationship with asbestos exposure became more substantiated. A joint research venture through the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the University of the Witswater and/Johannesburg General Hospital in South Africa provided the most compelling evidence of the nexus between asbestos exposure and the development of pleural mesothelioma.


Incidence of mesothelioma is still quite rare, with only 2,500-3000 diagnoses in the United States each year. There was a spike in reported diagnoses between 1970 and 1984, which has been attributed to the latency period between diagnosis and the height of industrial exposures, which occurred roughly 40-60 years prior to this time. Exposure was common in nearly all industries but was particularly common in the WWII-era military industrial cycle, including Navy Shipyards.


Although this cancer is much more common in men over the age of 60 (largely attributed to the industrial exposures within male-dominated industries), mesothelioma in women and children has been described as well. Mesothelioma causes for diagnosis in women and children are mainly attributed to secondary exposure to asbestos, as it was not uncommon for men to bring asbestos back into the home on their body or clothing if proper cleaning facilities were not available on site.

Mesothelioma is diagnosed through a comprehensive combination of biopsy and imaging scans.


Mesothelioma can be a difficult malignancy to diagnose because the symptoms and pathology of the disease closely resemble other respiratory conditions. For this reason, misdiagnosis is not uncommon in mesothelioma patients. Symptoms of mesothelioma include chest pain, chronic cough, effusions of the chest and abdomen, and the presence of blood in lung fluid.


Diagnostic surgeries, including a biopsy, will typically be required to determine the type of malignant cells that are present in the body. Typically a body imaging scan, including a magnetic resonance image (MRI) or computer topography (CT scan) will be required to determine the extent and location of the disease.


Mesothelioma patients are generally referred by their personal physicians to one of the many renowned mesothelioma doctors in the United States. These oncologists are well versed in the disease behavior and pathology and are the most familiar with cutting-edge mesothelioma treatment options. Dr. David Sugarbaker of the Brigham and Women's Hospital, an extension of Harvard University and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, is at the forefront of mesothelioma treatment through the International Mesothelioma Program.


While mesothelioma is typically advanced at diagnosis, treatment options are available.


Mesothelioma, while certainly an aggressive disease, is a manageable malignancy. While there is no cure for the cancer, mesothelioma treatment options including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are available for many patients. While a combination of Alimta® and Cisplatin is currently the only FDA approved chemotherapy regimen, several clinical trials are currently in progress utilizing other drugs including Gemcitabine and Onconase, with many showing dramatically improved results in certain cancer patients.


Radiation therapy is also utilized, but typically in conjunction with other treatment methods like surgery and chemotherapy. Surgical resection of mesothelioma is possible in early-stage-diagnosed patients. Aggressive surgeries such as extrapleural pneumonectomy can extend survival rates far beyond previously-thought timeframes. Diagnostic and palliative surgeries such as pleurocentesis and pleurodesis are also common in patients of malignant mesothelioma cancer.


Alternative therapies have also been used effectively by many mesothelioma patients to assist in managing symptoms of the disease and conventional treatments. These treatments are mainly preferential but can be extremely valuable to many patients.


Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos.


Mesothelioma is only caused by exposure to asbestos, though cases have been documented in children or other individuals with no asbestos history. Asbestos is a microscopic and naturally-occurring mineral that lodges in the pleural lining of the lungs and the peritoneal lining of the abdominal cavity. In most cases, several years will pass (up to 60) before mesothelioma develops in those who had been exposed to asbestos.


In many cases, those individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma that have been known to be exposed to asbestos may be eligible for financial compensation from asbestos manufacturers for their illness. Those who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and were exposed to asbestos should fill out the brief form on this page. We'll rush you a complimentary mesothelioma and asbestos exposure information kit detailing new mesothelioma treatments, active clinical trials, top doctors, as well as how to obtain compensation for asbestos-related health conditions like mesothelioma.

Cancer Causes : Tobacco and Cancer

Cigarette Smoking

The 1982 United States Surgeon General's report stated that "Cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality [death] in the United States." This statement is as true today as it was then.
Tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the United States. Because cigarette smoking and tobacco use are acquired behaviors -- activities that people choose to do -- smoking is the most preventable cause of death in our society.
Here is a brief overview of cigarette smoking: who smokes, how smoking affects health, what makes it so hard to quit, and what some of the many rewards of quitting are.

Who smokes?

Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 46 million US adults were current smokers in 2009 (the most recent year for which numbers are available). This is 20.6% of all adults (23.5% of men, 17.9% of women) -- about 1 out of 5 people.
When broken down by race/ethnicity, the numbers were as follows:

Whites	22.1%
African Americans	21.3%
Hispanics	14.5%
American Indians/Alaska Natives	23.2%
Asian Americans	12.0%
People of multiple races	29.5%

There were more cigarette smokers in the younger age groups. In 2009, the CDC reported 24.% of those 25 to 44 years old were current smokers, compared with 9.5% of those aged 65 or older.

High school and middle school students

Nationwide, 20% of high school students were smoking cigarettes in 2009. The most recent survey of middle school students shows that about 5% were smoking cigarettes. In both high schools and middle schools, white and Hispanic students were more likely to smoke cigarettes than other races/ethnicities.


What kinds of illness and death are caused by smoking?
About half of all Americans who keep smoking will die because of the habit. Each year about 443,000 people in the United States die from illnesses related to tobacco use. Smoking cigarettes kills more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined.

Cancer caused by smoking

Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths. It is linked with an increased risk of the following cancers:

• Lung
• Larynx (voice box)
• Oral cavity (mouth, tongue, and lips)
• Pharynx (throat)
• Esophagus (tube connecting the throat to the stomach)
• Stomach
• Pancreas
• Cervix
• Kidney
• Bladder
• Acute myeloid leukemia

Smoking is responsible for almost 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, and is one of the hardest cancers to treat. Lung cancer is a disease that can often be prevented. Some religious groups that promote non-smoking as part of their religion, such as Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists, have much lower rates of lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers.

Other health problems caused by smoking

As serious as cancer is, it accounts for less than half of the deaths related to smoking each year. Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, aneurysms, bronchitis, emphysema, and stroke.
Using tobacco can damage a woman's reproductive health and hurt babies. Tobacco use is linked with reduced fertility and a higher risk of miscarriage, early delivery (premature birth), and stillbirth. It is also a cause of low birth-weight in infants. It has been linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), too.
Smoking can make pneumonia and asthma worse. It has been linked to other health problems, too, including gum disease, cataracts, bone thinning, hip fractures, and peptic ulcers. Some studies have also linked smoking to macular degeneration, an eye disease that can cause blindness.
Smoking can cause or worsen poor blood flow in the arms and legs (peripheral vascular disease or PVD.) Surgery to improve the blood flow often doesn't work in people who keep smoking. Because of this, many surgeons who work on blood vessels (vascular surgeons) won't do certain surgeries on patients with PVD unless they stop smoking.
The smoke from cigarettes (called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke) can also have harmful health effects on those exposed to it. Adults and children can have health problems from breathing secondhand smoke.

Effects of smoking on how long you live and your quality of life

Based on data collected from 1995 to 1999, the CDC estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking.
But not all of the health problems related to smoking result in deaths. Smoking affects a smoker's health in many ways, harming nearly every organ of the body and causing diseases. According to the CDC, in 2000 about 8.6 million people had at least one chronic disease because they smoked or had smoked. Many of these people were suffering from more than one smoking-related problem. The diseases seen most often were chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. And some studies have found that male smokers may be more likely to be sexually impotent (have erectile dysfunction) than non-smokers. These problems can steal away a person's quality of life long before death. Smoking-related illness can limit a person's daily life by making it harder to breathe, get around, work, or play.

Cancer Causes :Genetics and Cancer

Heredity and Cancer

Cancer is such a common disease that it is no surprise that many families have at least a few members who have had cancer. Sometimes, certain types of cancer seem to run in some families. This can be caused by a number of factors. Often, family members have certain risk factors in common, such as smoking, which can cause many types of cancer. But in some cases the cancer is caused by an abnormal gene that is being passed along from generation to generation. Although this is often referred to as inherited cancer, what is inherited is the abnormal gene that can lead to cancer, not the cancer itself. Only about 5% to 10% of all cancers are inherited. This document focuses on those cancers.

DNA, genes, and chromosomes

Cancer is a disease of abnormal gene function. Genes are pieces of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). They contain the instructions on how to make the proteins the body needs to function, when to destroy damaged cells, and how to keep the cells in balance. Your genes control things such as hair color, eye color, and height. They also can affect your chance of getting certain diseases, such as cancer.

An abnormal change in a gene is called a mutation. The 2 types of mutations are inherited and acquired. Inherited gene mutations are passed from parent to child through the egg or sperm. These mutations are in every cell in the body. But most mutations that occur are not present in the egg or sperm. These mutations are called somatic. Somatic mutations are acquired at some point in the person's life. This type of mutation occurs in one cell, and then is passed on to any new cells that are the offspring of that cell.

Genes are found on chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell. We inherit one set of chromosomes from each parent. Each chromosome can contain hundreds or thousands of genes that are passed from the parents to the child. Every cell in your body has all of the genes you were born with. Although all cells have the same genes and chromosomes, different cells (or types of cells) may use different genes. For example, muscle cells use a different set of genes than skin cells use. The genes that the cell doesn't need are turned off and not used. The genes that the cell is using are activated or turned on.

Genes and cancer

Genes seem to have 2 major roles in cancer. Some, called oncogenes, can cause cancer. Others, known as tumor suppressor genes, stop cancer from developing or growing.

Oncogenes are mutated forms of certain normal genes of the cell called proto-oncogenes. Proto-oncogenes are often genes that normally control what kind of cell it is and how often it grows and divides. When a proto-oncogene mutates (changes) into an oncogene, it turns on or activates when it is not supposed to be. When this occurs, the cell can grow out of control, leading to cancer.

Tumor suppressor genes are normal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, and tell cells when to die (a process known as apoptosis or programmed cell death). When tumor suppressor genes don’t work properly, cells can grow out of control, which can lead to cancer.

A tumor suppressor gene is like the brake pedal on a car. It normally keeps the cell from dividing too quickly just as a brake keeps a car from going too fast. When something goes wrong with the gene, such as a mutation, cell division can get out of control.

An important difference between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes is that oncogenes result from the activation (turning on) of proto-oncogenes, but tumor suppressor genes cause cancer when they are inactivated (turned off).

Even if you were born with healthy genes, some of them can become changed (mutated) over the course of your life. These mutations are known as sporadic or somatic, meaning they are not inherited. Sporadic mutations cause most cases of cancer. These mutations are thought to be caused by things that we are exposed to in our environment, including cigarette smoke, radiation, hormones, and diet. More gene mutations build up as we get older, leading to a higher risk of cancer.

When someone has inherited an abnormal copy of a gene, their cells already start out with one mutation. This makes it all the easier (and quicker) for enough mutations to build up for a cell to become cancer. That is why cancers that are inherited tend to occur earlier in life than cancers of the same type that are not inherited.