Cancer Warning Signs
•Red flag #1: Difficulty swallowing. When you swallow, you’ve probably had the uncomfortable experience of food getting “stuck” either in your esophagus or chest. Well, if you have this sensation all the time, or most times when you eat, and it’s usually NOT painful – get checked out. Dr. Amy P. Abernathy is a professor of medicine in the oncology division at Duke University Medical Center. She says that difficulty swallowing is common in people with esophageal or stomach cancer, and may be a sign that a tumor is obstructing the esophagus, or that inflammation has narrowed the opening. Inflammation can be a precursor to cancer, and can also indicate that a malignant tumor has irritated surrounding healthy tissue. So, if eating becomes difficult for any reason, see a doctor.
•Next red flag: Extreme exhaustion. Everyone gets tired, but Abernathy says that extreme fatigue due to cancer is different. If for no apparent reason you feel overwhelmingly exhausted, it could be due to anemia caused by colon cancer or leukemia. Unfortunately, fatigue due to cancer is sometimes mistaken for depression, but a key difference is that people with depression often lack the will and desire to perform daily activities. A person with cancer-related fatigue wants to stay active, but is physically unable to.
•One last symptom you should never ignore: Persistent cough. Long-time smokers get used to coughing, so they don’t often notice this important symptom of lung cancer, but non-smokers can also have persistent cough, which can be a symptom of throat cancer. Abernathy says if you have a cough that persists longer than a month, get to a doctor, especially if there’s any blood involved.
To have a cancer screening call us for an appointment.