Many diseases make themselves felt immediately, for example a flu infection.
But cancer often only causes symptoms at a later stage of the disease.
Which symptoms you should take seriously.
The nose runs, the throat hurts, you feel weak: signs that viruses have found their way into the body.
This usually reacts immediately and fights the pathogens.
This counterattack causes typical signs of illness.
The immune system has mobilized antibodies that, in healthy people, can successfully fight most of the thriving diseases in the country.
But our self-healing powers are not enough for every illness.
Degenerate and mutate cells can lead to malignant tissue proliferation, also known as tumors, in the body.
Depending on where they originate in the body, there is talk of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer and even breast cancer.
What all types of cancer have in common is that the chances of recovery are higher if they are detected early.
Because once the tumors have spread, i.e. spread through metastasis in the body, therapy becomes more difficult.
The treacherous thing: many types of cancer remain undetected for a long time because they either manifest themselves through unspecific symptoms or cause no symptoms at all for a long time.
This is why examinations by the doctor for early cancer detection are so important.
When do cancer symptoms appear?
Health problems due to cancer often only begin when the tumor grows, presses on nerves or organs, or metastases form in other regions of the body.
What are metastases?
According to the Zurich University Hospital, metastases are daughter tumors or cancerous metastases of a malignant tumor that have spread to the lymph nodes or other organs.
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There are a variety of headache triggers.
This includes stress and tension.
In some cases, the pain can also be a symptom of cancer.
© Javier Sanchez Mingorance/Imago
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Cancer in adults: what symptoms should lead you to the doctor
Aggressive and fast-growing tumors increase the risk that symptoms will appear within a short time.
Often, signs of cancer are rather non-specific and lead people to suspect that another disease is causing them.
Fever, for example, is interpreted as a sign of a viral infection.
If the following symptoms appear again, don't go away or even get worse, you should have this checked out by a doctor, the health insurance company AOK informs you:
Fever
night sweats
Weight loss with no apparent cause
Digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea or changes in stool
pain when urinating
Blood in the stool, sputum, or urine
Vaginal bleeding outside of your period
Loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting
dysphagia
Headache
fatigue and exhaustion
Palpable lumps in the chest or other parts of the body
Persistent cough and hoarseness
Changes in the mouth like ulcers
Skin changes such as bleeding lumps, new or changing birthmarks
New onset of pain with no apparent cause
Yellowing of the eyes or skin
Pale
Neurological abnormalities such as speech disorders, coordination problems or visual disturbances
Cancer-causing viruses: These pathogens can cause cancer
Cancer-causing viruses: These pathogens can cause cancer
Cancer in children: possible warning signs
According to a study by the Munich Klinikum Rechts der Isar, many childhood tumors progress quickly.
Physicians should also be aware of the warning signals for childhood cancer because the advanced stage of the disease means that more intensive therapies must be used, which increasingly lead to side effects and long-term effects.
"The most common warning signs are bone pain, pallor, fever, headache and vomiting as well as swelling of soft tissues and lymph nodes," the study authors inform in the specialist journal "
Monthly Pediatrics"
.
"The trick is to find the rare but serious differential diagnoses among the common, seemingly banal symptoms," it continues.
The authors of the study and the portal Kinderkrebsinfo summarize which possible signs of cancer in children must be clarified by a doctor:
Fever
paleness
Vomit
Exhausted state, no desire to play
lack of concentration
growth and developmental delays
weight loss
Local swelling and pain (e.g. swelling of the lymph nodes in the case of lymphomas, headaches in the case of a brain tumor)
visual disturbances
Loss of consciousness, paralysis, seizures
bone pain
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
Rubric list image: © Javier Sánchez Mingorance/Imago