• Question: what are the signs to show you might have cancer

    Asked by 584radg42 to Pip, Kate, Reka, Ajay, Kuntal on 14 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by 246radg32, Eddy the Jedi, ashu2005.
    • Photo: Pip Millington

      Pip Millington answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      People often think that cancer is just one disease but really it’s more than 100 different diseases which all have different signs.

      That said there are some symptoms and signs which link a lot of different types of cancer. For example, losing weight when you’re not trying to, sweating throughout the night when it’s not hot, finding a lump somewhere.

      Some cancer symptoms are specific to the type of cancer. Someone with bowel (intestinal) cancer might present with blood mixed in the poo or feeling they still need to poo even when they have just gone. Lung cancer can present with a cough which goes on for more than 3 weeks and usually occurs in people who smoke. Skin cancer often starts as a mole which changes shape or size over time.

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