Cancer: The signs and symptoms to look out for (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)

 

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1611585/cancer-symptoms-blood-clots-first-clue-redness-swelling-warmth-pain

16 Cancer Symptoms And Signs You'll Probably Ignore

 Cancer is the second most common cause of death. It's more curable when detected earlier. 

Although some cancers develop completely without symptoms, some do have signs you are likely to ignore.

1. Unexplained Weight Loss

Weight loss for no known reason, not through exercise or changes in diet is a common sign of cancers related to lung, stomach or pancreas.

2. Fever

Fever may be a sign of early cancer in the blood like leukemia and lymphoma. Fever may also reveal kidney and colon cancer at an early stage.

3. Fatigue

Extreme fatigue that cannot get better after rest can be a symptom of several cancer types such as leukemia, colon cancer, and stomach cancer.

4. Pain

Sometimes bone cancer or testicular cancer can cause pain. A headache that doesn't get better after a long-time treatment may be a symptom of a brain tumor. Back pain may be a sign of cancer in the ovary or colon.

5. Unusual Bleeding

Coughing up blood may be a sign of lung cancer. Blood in the stool or urine can forecast colon cancer or kidney or bladder cancer. A bloody discharge from the nipple can indicate breast cancer.

6. Lump

A lump that is usually hard, not painful, irregularly shaped or firmly attached deep in the soft tissue or under the skin is often caused by cancer.

7. Nagging Cough

More than half of people who have a cough that just wouldn't go away are diagnosed with lung cancer. Excessive coughing is also common signs of laryngeal and thyroid cancer.

8. Shortness of Breath

Cancer in or near the lungs may cause a blockage of the tubes that carry air. Breathlessness is also common with breast cancer tumors, ovarian or liver cancer.

9. Difficulty Swallowing

Mouth or throat cancers can make the swallowing difficult. It's also a common sign of various head and neck cancers such as esophageal, oropharyngeal cancer, thyroid, and laryngeal cancers.

10. Heartburn

Heartburn that doesn't go away or gets worse could mean cancer of the throat, stomach, or ovaries. Excessive food, alcohol, or stress can cause serious heartburn.

11. Belly Pain and Depression

It rarely happens, but belly pain plus depression can be a sign of pancreatic cancer. But you don’t need to worry unless this disease runs deep in your family.

12. Skin Changes

Any freckle, mole or wart that changes color, shape, or size should be examined for skin cancer. Besides, darker looking skin, reddened skin, itching, yellowish eyes, and skin may also be linked to cancers.

13. Change in Bowel or Bladder Habits

Long-term diarrhea, constipation or a change in the size of the stool can be a symptom of rectal or colon cancer. Pain when passing or blood in urine can be related to bladder or prostate cancer. 

14. White Patches Inside the Mouth

White patches inside the mouth can be leukoplakia, which is pre-cancerous and can become mouth cancer if it's not treated early.

15. Continued Itching

Precancerous conditions of the genital or anal areas can cause persistent itching. If the itching continues with over-the-counter topical medications, consult your doctor.

16. Non-healing Sores

Common sores usually heal quickly. If you have persistent sores in areas like your mouth, you may have cancer and should raise concerns and see a doctor.

https://www.buzzaura.com/12-cancer-symptoms-you-are-most-likely-to-ignore

9 Warning Signs of Lung Cancer You Might Ignore

 Most lung cancers do not cause any symptoms until the disease has advanced. However, some people do have early lung cancer symptoms. 

If you visit your doctor when you notice these early symptoms, your cancer can be diagnosed at an earlier stage, when the treatment is more likely to be effective. The most common symptoms of lung cancer are:

1. A lingering cough

The majority of people with lung cancer have a cough, sometimes with blood. If you have a dry cough, and it lasts for over a month, you'd better get it checked out.

2. Chronic infections

Most of the time, viruses are to blame for lung infections like chronic bronchitis. However, if you are getting sick repeatedly, and the sickness seems to go straight to your chest, it could be an early sign of cancer.

3. Shortness of breath

Shortness of breath is common for people with lung cancer. You may feel like you can't get enough air into your lungs and It can be a scary sensation. It's important to tell your doctor if you are having difficulty breathing.

4. Weight loss

A more advanced tumor may make proteins that tell your body to lose weight. If you are dropping pounds without a change in your diet or workout, you'd better go to the doctor.

5. Bone pain

If the cancer has spread to other organs in your body, you may feel an ache deep down in your bones or joints. The back and hips are common sore spots.

6. Swelling in your neck and face

If a lung tumor begins pressing against your vena cava, you may notice swelling in your neck and face. Your arms and upper chest can also be affected.

7.  Overwhelming fatigue

80% of people with cancer note "excessive tiredness" as a sign. But It is different than feeling tired. It is a feeling so worn out that you can't wait to climb into bed.

8. Muscle weakness

Lung cancer affects your muscles as well as other organs. One of the first areas to be impacted is your hips. You may find it hard to even get out of a chair. Weakness can also be in the shoulders, arms, legs.

9. High calcium levels

Some lung cancers make hormone-like substances that upset the balance of minerals in your body. In some instances, excess calcium gets released into the bloodstream and this can cause: frequent urination, constipation, excessive thirst, belly pain and dizziness. If you notice any number of these symptoms, you need to visit your doctor.

How Common is Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of death throughout the world. Statistics from the American Cancer Society estimated that there will be about 244,000 new cases of lung cancer in the United States and about 154000 death were due to the disease.

Lung cancer is predominantly found in older people; almost 70% of people diagnosed with lung cancer are over 65 years of age.

What are the causes and risk factors for lung cancer?

Research has shown that the chief cause of lung cancer is cigarette smoking. It is said that around 90% of lung cancers can be attributed to tobacco use.

Passive smoking is also an established risk factor for the development of lung cancer. It is said that a nonsmoker who resides with a smoker has a 24% increase in their risk of developing lung cancer. It is estimated that more than 7,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year in the United States that are attributable to passive smoking.

https://www.buzzaura.com/9-warning-signs-of-lung-cancer-you-might-ignore/

Have a cough? Here are 10 health issues you might have

Coughing is one of those things we do for a variety of reasons.

It can be a social thing, where we cough to get attention; or it could be psychological, where we do it to clear our throats prior to speaking in public.

October 28, 2018 Health

By TAN SHIOW CHIN

A cough can be indicative of a range of respiratory conditions, ranging from the common cold to lung cancer.

But most often, we cough in response to something irritating our respiratory system, which includes the throat and the lungs.

This is most likely due to either an irritant in our environment, like smoke or the haze, or a respiratory infection like the cold or flu.

Says consultant physician and respiratory specialist Dr Kow Ken Siong: “Cough is not necessarily bad, to be honest, because the cough reflex is actually there to protect us. It is designed to keep foreign particles out of our airways, so it’s not always a bad thing.

“But of course, if it is very persistent and affects the quality of life of patients, obviously, we need to find out why this person is coughing incessantly.”

Most patients, he says, tend to see the doctor when their cough has lasted between three to eight weeks, also known as a subacute cough. Any cough lasting more than eight weeks is considered chronic.

Shares Dr Kow: “In terms of cough and/or breathlessness, I think these two symptoms are probably the most common symptoms that patients come to consult with a respiratory physician.

“For example, cough will probably be the main symptom in about half of all our patients. And I would say that even more patients come in with breathlessness.

“And there’s a good amount of patients who come in with both symptoms at the same time.”

A chest X-ray is a common investigation tool for cases with a chronic cough. — AFP

Subacute cough

For coughs that have been present between three to eight weeks, three conditions usually come to mind, says Dr Kow.

One of them is upper airway cough syndrome.

“This is an umbrella term just to make things easier,” he explains. “For example, upper airway cough syndrome would consist of something very common – post-nasal drip.”

This occurs when someone with rhinitis – which is when the mucous membrane of the nose is inflamed from allergies or infections – experiences excessive mucus accumulating at the back of their nose and dripping down to the throat.

This irritates the throat, resulting in a cough that tries to get rid of the mucus. Other symptoms usually include a stuffy and/or runny nose, sneezing and frequent throat-clearing in an attempt to get rid of the drip.

Another condition with subacute cough is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

“Generally, these patients will present with heartburn; so, they may complain of a retrosternal burning sensation and a bitter taste behind their tongue,” he says.

“But then again, sometimes, these symptoms might not be present; the only manifestation is actually the dry cough lasting three to eight weeks.”

The other condition a doctor would consider is asthma.

A history of heavy smoking, combined with a chronic cough, tends to point towards either COPD or lung cancer. — AP

This, Dr Kow says, is “a very common respiratory condition contributes to both symptoms of subacute and chronic cough, and breathlessness”.

He explains: “You can say that asthma is an inflammation of the airways due to triggers, which are particular to each patient.

“There are common triggers obviously, but every individual with asthma may have different triggers, resulting in inflammation of the airways leading to bronchospasm (which causes narrowing of the airways).

“It is this bronchospasm that gives rise to the symptoms of breathlessness and wheezing.”

Asthma typically runs in families as it has a genetic component, so family history of asthma is a strong indicator that the patient’s symptoms are a result of asthma.

While most patients develop asthma in their childhood, it can also first manifest in a patient’s 20s, especially if there is a strong family history of asthma and they become pregnant, as well as in their 40s or 50s, although these patients would have to be carefully examined to exclude chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is more common in that age group.

“It is about 20%-25% of patients who develop adult-onset asthma, and it is more common in females,” says Dr Kow.

Some childhood asthma patients who have outgrown their asthma may also find that it returns when they are adults.

Those with no family history of asthma may develop the condition due to environmental triggers like exposure to certain chemicals in childhood, or the body’s own immune response to respiratory infections, that both help to prime the respiratory system to develop asthma.

According to Dr Kow, patients usually experience cough and/or shortness of breath at night or early in the morning.

He notes that exercise can also bring on shortness of breath and coughing, along with chest tightness, and sometimes, wheezing. These symptoms usually start around three minutes after starting to exercise.

Chronic cough

For coughs that last longer than eight weeks, Dr Kow divides up the possible causes into diseases of the airway and diseases that affect the lung parenchyma – the “meat” of the lung.

Diseases of the airway include bronchiectasis – the abnormal, irreversible dilatation of the bronchi with bronchial wall thickening due to previous infection and inflammation – and COPD.

For COPD, Dr Kow notes that there is usually a very strong history of smoking at least one pack a day for a minimum of 20 years.

In addition, he says that while asthma patients may have good days where they do not have any symptoms at all, COPD patients never have such days, only times when their symptoms might be less bothersome.

Another airway disease is foreign body aspiration into the lung, leading to infection.

Says Dr Kow: “When a patient comes in with cough, if you don’t ask them, sometimes, they may not tell you that they tend to choke when they eat or drink, especially the elderly.

“So, we’re more likely to see these sort of symptoms due to foreign body aspiration in the elderly and those who have underlying co-morbidities, for example, if they have had strokes before or radiotherapy treatment to their upper airways, affecting their swallowing ability.”

Dr Kow notes that in about one-third of cases with cough, investigations like blood tests, chest X-rays and a lung function test, are necessary to help determine the diagnosis. — SAM THAM/The Star

He adds that the aspirated foreign body need not necessarily be a big piece of food, but could be something small that often goes unnoticed, for example, a grain of rice, or even water.

Lung tumours can also cause chronic coughing.

However, Dr Kow says: “To be honest, they are responsible for symptoms like cough and shortness of breath less than 5% to 10% of the time.”

More common symptoms of a lung tumour would be weight loss, loss of appetite and coughing up blood (haemoptysis). A history of smoking is also quite common.

Meanwhile, among the diseases that affect the lung parenchyma resulting in chronic cough is interstitial lung disease.

This disease, which affects the tissue and space around the air sacs of the lungs (the interstitium), tends to cause a dry cough and shortness of breath that gets worse with time.

“One of the more common interstitial lung diseases that can cause these symptoms is pulmonary fibrosis, of which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the most common,” he says, adding that these patients tend to be in their 70s and male.

Another condition is a lung abscess.

“It’s not so common, but if patients present with shortness of breath and cough with a productive sputum, which tends to be quite mucopurulent (pus-like) and foul-smelling, and if they’ve had an underlying lung infection prior to this, a pneumonia for example, then you might suspect a lung abscess if the pneumonia didn’t heal well,” he says.

Finally, Dr Kow says that there is the 10% of patients with cough in whom, despite proper history-taking, physical examination and investigation, no cause can be found for the cough.

“We will probably categorise these patients as having idiopathic chronic cough,” he says, adding that this is more likely in females as it is hypothesised that females tend to have a more sensitive cough reflex, compared to males.

https://www.star2.com/health/2018/10/28/10-conditions-a-cough-can-indicate

Coughing Remedy

The Amazing Remedy Page

Coughing Remedy

I wish I'd known this when my family was young during winter colds and coughs. I am going to try it myself. Share with young parents. Isn't life strange. When we had a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils.

Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it. Some of us have used Vick's Vapo Rub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren't sure why.

To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult, as we found out personally), put Vick's Vapo rub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks.

Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure.

Just happened to tune in AM. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly. Polly tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it. If you have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/remedy.htm