Cancer is a diagnosis that can change lives. However, the stage at which the disease is detected is of great importance.
Alarming symptoms can prompt us to start diagnostics and then effective treatment early enough.
Sometimes cancer can be detected at an early stage completely by accident. However, what symptoms can indicate that cancer is already very advanced?
Cancer stages
In the classification of cancers, there are four stages of the disease, as well as an early stage 0. Determining the current stage of the disease allows us to determine how extensive the cancer is, whether it has metastasised, what the prognosis is, and what type of treatment can be offered to the patient.
The classification of cancer advancement includes :
- Stage 0 – a tumour in the early stages of development, pre-invasive, which is not malignant but may develop into one;
- Stage I – early phase of cancer advancement, very good prognosis;
- Stage II – moderately advanced cancer;
- Stage III – advanced cancer;
- Stage IV – very advanced cancer, distant metastases present; in this case, the prognosis is very poor.
Stage IV Cancer Symptoms
Cancer in a very advanced stage of development (stage IV) is a disease with metastases to distant parts of the body. At this stage, the prognosis is very poor, and the cancer is often described as incurable. According to an analysis published in the journal “The Lancet Oncology“, patients with stage IV cancers consistently had three symptoms in particular:
- Neck lump
- Pain in the chest
- Back pain
The researchers considered 20 common cancer symptoms and compared their occurrence in 7,997 patients aged 25 years and older with 12 different solid cancers (bladder, breast, endometrial, ovarian, colon, larynx, lung, oral cavity/oropharyngeal, prostate, rectum, kidney, and melanoma ).
In over half of the patients, as many as 13 symptoms were detected at earlier stages than the fourth stage of the disease development. These symptoms include abnormal mole, breast lump, postmenopausal bleeding, rectal bleeding, lower urinary tract symptoms, hematuria, changes in bowel habits, hoarseness, fatigue, abdominal pain, lower abdominal pain, and weight loss. The last category was “other symptoms”.
What symptoms require consultation with a doctor?
Early detection of cancer is the most effective weapon in the fight against cancer. That is why it is crucial to pay attention to early symptoms of the disease.
Sometimes a disturbing symptom does not mean cancer, but another health problem. However, consulting it with a primary care physician is an important element of more effective prevention.
Symptoms that may be early signs of cancer and that you should discuss with your doctor include:
- a lump that suddenly appeared on the body;
- bleeding of unknown causes;
- change in bowel habits.
