30 cancer symptoms you should never ignore

If you find yourself getting full faster and unable to eat as much as you normally would, you might be dealing with ovarian cancer symptoms, according to Dr Holcomb. In fact, most cancers will interfere with your appetite since they often trigger changes in your metabolism. Stomach, pancreatic, colon and ovarian cancers can put pressure on your stomach and make you feel too full to eat. Excess fluid in the belly can make you feel full faster if you have liver cancer.

If you’re not sick but can’t seem to kick that scratchy sore throat, it could be one of the early symptoms of throat cancer. (Keep in mind there are many things that cause a sore throat that aren’t cancer.) Tumours that form in the area below the vocal cords often cause this throat cancer symptom.

A hoarse voice could be the symptom of lymphoma or throat, lung, larynx or thyroid cancer. Sometimes, hoarseness is a later symptom of breast or lung cancer that spreads and presses on nerves near the voice box. If the hoarseness doesn’t go away within two weeks, see a doctor.

Find out why many of us hate the sound of our own voice.

This symptom is very common and most often not due to cancer. However, people with colon, rectum or ovarian cancer can have back pain. People with lung cancer may also have back pain ­– pressure from a tumour can put stress on the back. A similar thing happens for people with cervical, bladder or pancreatic cancer. Most often, however, back pain due to cancer means it has already spread or grown and mostly likely is accompanied by other symptoms.

Everyone gets the occasional bruise ­– but if you have excessive, unexplainable bruising in strange places, this could be an early sign of leukaemia. Over time, leukaemia impairs the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and clot, and this can lead to bruising.

Cancer in the kidneys, pancreas or liver could cause dark urine. The same bile build-up that contributes to jaundice or yellowing skin gives urine a darker colour.

If you’re breastfeeding or pregnant, breast discharge is likely nothing to worry about. Otherwise, any discharge should be checked by a doctor; after a lump, nipple discharge is the more common breast cancer symptom. Spontaneous nipple discharge that’s anything other than clear in colour could be a cause for concern.

Any time your body temperature rises, it’s a sign that your immune system is battling some kind of intruder. That could be a virus, bacteria or potentially a tumour. Persistent and reoccurring fevers that can’t be explained by cold or flu symptoms should be evaluated by your doctor. In rare cases, fever is an early symptom of blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma as well as kidney cancer.

Read on to find out which diseases doctors can actually detect through smell.

Long-lasting mouth sores could be oral cancer and should be treated right away, especially in people who smoke or drink alcohol often. Some skin cancers may bleed and look like sores that haven’t healed.

Oral diseases like gingivitis can be treated with these home remedies.

These patches could be leukoplakia – a pre-cancerous condition that could progress into mouth cancer if left untreated. Mouth-irritating habits like smoking or chewing tobacco often cause leukoplakia. The patches slowly develop over weeks or months and can be hard to scrape off.