5 ms·

Second to not smoking is getting checked at the first sign of anything suspicious. A lot (tens of percents) of people wait months or years.

by nomilk 5y ago

whatshisface 5y ago
What's suspicious?
- wahern 5y ago
  If you have to ask you probably lack the suspicion gene.
- rococode 5y ago
  From what I can tell as a non-medical professional, some of the most concerning warning signs are: - Sudden weight loss (>10-15 pounds without a change in exercise or diet) - Any kind of recurring pain, especially headaches - Your poop is messed up - Blood anywhere - coughing up blood, nosebleeds when you don't usually have them, blood in your poop or urine - Mood or behavior changes (helpful if you have someone close to you who may notice this) - Feeling fatigued even when well-rested - Swelling or lumps anywhere - Trouble sleeping Which is a lot of stuff, but fortunately can be summed up as "If you feel consistently worse than you usually do, go see a doctor". The key is to make your judgement of "I am indeed feeling consistently worse" within a couple of weeks, not a few months or even years while hoping it'll get better on its own. It's harder than it sounds - life is always busy and it's easy to tell yourself that your discomfort is mild and you can hold out a little longer. I waited too long to act on some bad heartburn and my few months of delay were rewarded with permanent damage to my lower esophagus...
  - nomilk 5y ago
    I'd just add signs of skin changes too: - New moles. - Moles that increases in size. - An outline of a mole that becomes notched. - A spot that changes colour from brown to black or is varied. - A spot that becomes raised or develops a lump within it. - The surface of a mole becoming rough, scaly or ulcerated. - Moles that itch or tingle. - Moles that bleed or weep. - Spots that look different from the others. Info directly from here: https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/check-for-signs-of-skin-cancer https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prev...
  - chasd00 5y ago
    when i was in my 20's a drank a lot of dr pepper. I switched to diet dr. pepper just by chance and it stuck as a habit. I lost so much weight so fast i went to the doctor fearing the worst. He did the math in front of me around how much less sugar i was consuming by that switch and it all added up. i was blown away.
- james_impliu 5y ago
  For anyone reading with children... My daughter has cancer in her eyes. The only symptom was a barely noticeable squint despite it being very late stage (and then suddenly, dilated pupil and a color change in her pupil). In theory, the other symptom would have been a white reflection in her pupil had we ever taken a flash photo.
  - Toutouxc 5y ago
    So sorry man. Also, what the fuck is wrong with the world? Cancer in someones's daughter's eyes, really?
8ytecoder 5y ago
My brother had mild breathing issues and back pain for a really long time. He resisted getting tested until the day his pain got severe enough to call for an ambulance. It turned out to be a giant tumor - large enough to press against nerves and cause back pain. He’s the fittest person I know and we all thought he overdid himself at the gym causing a back issue. It’s just that everything can be cancer and nothing. Some cancers have obvious symptoms others not so much. Any unexplained and rapid weight loss seems to be the most obvious. I don’t want to look up all the symptoms. Everything from gastric issues, back pains to moles and warts can be due to cancer.

Second to not smoking is getting checked at the first sign of anything suspicious. A lot (tens of percents) of people wait months or years.

by nomilk 5y ago

Second to not smoking is getting checked at the first sign of anything suspicious. A lot (tens of percents) of people wait months or years.

whatshisface 5y ago

What's suspicious?

wahern 5y ago
If you have to ask you probably lack the suspicion gene.
rococode 5y ago
From what I can tell as a non-medical professional, some of the most concerning warning signs are: - Sudden weight loss (>10-15 pounds without a change in exercise or diet) - Any kind of recurring pain, especially headaches - Your poop is messed up - Blood anywhere - coughing up blood, nosebleeds when you don't usually have them, blood in your poop or urine - Mood or behavior changes (helpful if you have someone close to you who may notice this) - Feeling fatigued even when well-rested - Swelling or lumps anywhere - Trouble sleeping Which is a lot of stuff, but fortunately can be summed up as "If you feel consistently worse than you usually do, go see a doctor". The key is to make your judgement of "I am indeed feeling consistently worse" within a couple of weeks, not a few months or even years while hoping it'll get better on its own. It's harder than it sounds - life is always busy and it's easy to tell yourself that your discomfort is mild and you can hold out a little longer. I waited too long to act on some bad heartburn and my few months of delay were rewarded with permanent damage to my lower esophagus...
- nomilk 5y ago
  I'd just add signs of skin changes too: - New moles. - Moles that increases in size. - An outline of a mole that becomes notched. - A spot that changes colour from brown to black or is varied. - A spot that becomes raised or develops a lump within it. - The surface of a mole becoming rough, scaly or ulcerated. - Moles that itch or tingle. - Moles that bleed or weep. - Spots that look different from the others. Info directly from here: https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/check-for-signs-of-skin-cancer https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prev...
- chasd00 5y ago
  when i was in my 20's a drank a lot of dr pepper. I switched to diet dr. pepper just by chance and it stuck as a habit. I lost so much weight so fast i went to the doctor fearing the worst. He did the math in front of me around how much less sugar i was consuming by that switch and it all added up. i was blown away.
james_impliu 5y ago
For anyone reading with children... My daughter has cancer in her eyes. The only symptom was a barely noticeable squint despite it being very late stage (and then suddenly, dilated pupil and a color change in her pupil). In theory, the other symptom would have been a white reflection in her pupil had we ever taken a flash photo.
- Toutouxc 5y ago
  So sorry man. Also, what the fuck is wrong with the world? Cancer in someones's daughter's eyes, really?

8ytecoder 5y ago

My brother had mild breathing issues and back pain for a really long time. He resisted getting tested until the day his pain got severe enough to call for an ambulance. It turned out to be a giant tumor - large enough to press against nerves and cause back pain. He’s the fittest person I know and we all thought he overdid himself at the gym causing a back issue. It’s just that everything can be cancer and nothing. Some cancers have obvious symptoms others not so much. Any unexplained and rapid weight loss seems to be the most obvious. I don’t want to look up all the symptoms. Everything from gastric issues, back pains to moles and warts can be due to cancer.