We all live in a world where pollution, stress, and unhealthy lifestyles are extremely common. It happens because of extreme work pressure and a lack of time for ourselves. Due to these high-speed life habits, the number of deadly extremity victims, especially cancer patients, is rising exponentially, and most people doubt if they are at risk of developing cancer.
Although cancer is a life-threatening illness, today, people live longer than ever after being diagnosed with cancer because of modernized cancer screenings. Regular cancer screenings detect diseases earlier when they are easier to treat. However, getting confused about whether you have cancer development or common disease symptoms is common.
Cancer warning signs vary with the location and organ concerned. Age, medical history, gender, lifestyle, and genetics of the patient also play a key role. As an outcome, people mistakenly associate different healthcare problems with cancer. So, it’s high time to set the record on what does not makeup signs or symptoms of developing cancer.
Here, we will discuss eight signs that indicate you might not have cancer. Dig deeper to learn about those signs that ensure you are out of risk of developing cancer.
What Are The Common Cancer Symptoms?
Firstly, we must understand how a person can know if they actually have cancer. As cancer shows various signs and symptoms, which are usually similar to your average disease, you can end up confusing them both with each other.
You may be surprised that there are over 200 types of cancer. And based on this, your signs and symptoms can vary, too. They come both as general or affecting the specific areas of your body. Sometimes the symptoms can be related to your stomach or skin, specific to a body area. While on the other hand, you can even experience general symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, and unexplained pain.
A possible common sign of cancer is having a lump in your body. However, it doesn’t indicate that you’re likely to develop cancer. Also, cancer affects individuals in different ways. Hence, the signs and symptoms you may experience may differ for others. For this reason, you don’t have to remember all these signs as well as symptoms of cancer.
The most common and general cancer symptoms include:
- High fever and heavy night sweats
- Fatigue
- Unexplained bruising or bleeding
- Unusual swelling or lump
- Unexpected weight loss
- Unexplained ache or pain
- Difficulty swallowing
- Appetite loss
- Hoarseness or croaky voice
- Breathlessness
- Bowel changes and problems peeing
- Changes in the skin
- Unusual chest or breast changes
Having these signs doesn’t mean you have cancer. However, if you’re experiencing any of them, consult your doctor. It might not be cancer but maybe some mild condition. Also, cancer can affect people of all ages. So, instead of following the average data of cancer patients, listen to your body and get proper help at the right time.
Signs You Don’t Have Cancer
As discussed, cancer can show a range of signs and symptoms. These symptoms can be common and don’t have to be cancer particularly. Whether you have cancer or something else, it’s better to let your healthcare provider decide.
So, let’s discuss these common signs that people usually misinterpret as the signs and symptoms of cancer.
1. A Condition That’s Been There For a Prolonged Time
Sometimes you can develop ailments that can stay with you for a long time. This includes aches, cough, recurring moderate fever, and discomfort. However, if these conditions have stayed like this for a long period without much change in the intensity, there are significant chances it might not be cancer.
Cancer is known to develop gradually, and it usually worsens if it goes undetected for a long time. Also, this condition shows different signs and symptoms depending on which stage you’re at and how much time has passed. So, if you’re not experiencing this, it’s a sign you may not have cancer.
2. Symptoms That Have Been Recently Developed
If you have recently developed a condition that shows similar signs and symptoms as cancer, it may not be cancer. A fairly new health condition cannot be cancer, especially if it has been recently detected. Depending on your general health and immunity level, you may get rid of this new condition soon enough.
3. Intermittent Symptoms
You will likely not have cancer if you have intermittent symptoms or signs and conditions that tend to come at irregular intervals. When a person has cancer, the symptoms stay with them and worsen over time. Also, an individual can even experience new symptoms while others stay constantly with them.
However, you should know there are some exceptions in this part. A person with bowel cancer can show symptoms like blood loss and diarrhea from time to time.
4. You’re Not An Active Smoker Or Passive Smoker
An active smoker has a significant chance of developing lung cancer. However, if you’re actively and passively smoking, this lifestyle can influence your body, ultimately developing cancer. There are, in total, 14 types of cancer that are attributed to smoking. Since smoking is the obvious risk factor for lung cancer, you can be at high risk of developing this condition.
However, suppose you are a non-smoker or have quit smoking long back, and you avoid passive smoking. In that case, the chances of you developing cancer are minimal compared to an active or passive smoker.
5. Women With Pain In The Breast
It’s good to be cautious about your health status and condition. In women, however, having a lump in the breast or pain around it is more common than you may think. So, having a lump or pain in your breast may not always be a sign of cancer. Please consult your healthcare provider, as they can help identify the real cause of the pain.
6. Headache Without Other Symptoms
If you’re experiencing random and frequent headaches, and you don’t have a past migraine case, you may think you have a brain tumor. However, the chances of developing this condition based on your current symptoms are not very high. You should consult a specialist or doctor to identify the real problem.
7. All Reports Are Normal
If you have undergone a test and your health reports are normal, you have a low chance of developing cancer. This is primarily because cancer leaves numerous trace symptoms in your pathological record that are difficult to miss.
8. Constipation Without Any Other Symptoms
If you’ve simply experienced a bout of constipation without any signs of fever, blood loss, or diarrhea, it’s less likely you have cancer. This condition can occur because of your diet, activity, and stress. If you analyze your last two days, you may know why you developed this condition.
9. Young Age
There are not many cases of young people developing cancer. Whether it is esophagus, lung, stomach, or bowel cancer, your risk of developing any cancer increases with age. Also, these symptoms usually show up in people in their mid-30s. There are rare chances for people below this age group to develop any signs of cancer. However, even in all this, there are some exceptions, like testicular cancer, lymph node cancer, and blood cancer.
Some Lifestyle Changes To Opt For To Prevent Cancer
While cancer, in general, isn’t preventable, you can reduce your chances of developing it. Your best course of action would be making healthy lifestyle choices like maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol consumption amount, not using tobacco products, and protecting the skin. Take charge by introducing changes in your diet and other daily life activities. Also, get routine screenings.
Usually, what’s known as cancer prevention is still transforming. However, it’s well-accepted that your risks of developing cancer are influenced by the lifestyle preferences you make.
So, if you want to take a few necessary steps to prevent cancer, take solace; minor lifestyle changes can create a tremendous difference. You need to consider these cancer-prevention tips.
Don’t Use Tobacco
Consuming any kind of tobacco puts you in danger of cancer. Smoking has been connected to cancer, including cancer of the mouth, lungs, throat, larynx, bladder, pancreas, cervix, and kidney. Using tobacco is mainly associated with cancer of the pancreas and oral cavity. Even if you don’t consume tobacco or quit it long, exposure to secondhand smoke might raise your risk of developing lung cancer.
Avoiding tobacco consumption — or planning to quit it — is essential for cancer prevention. If you require help to leave tobacco consumption habits, consult your doctor about stopping smoking, what products can help, and other strategies for quitting tobacco.
Include A Healthy Diet In Your Routine
Although choosing healthy options at mealtime or the grocery store can’t assure complete cancer prevention, it might lower your cancer risk. Consider these instructions:
Eat Fruits And Vegetables In Abundance
Add plenty of vegetables, fruits, and other foods from plant sources to your diet. Foods such as beans, whole grains, dairy products, and meat can help.
Maintain A Balanced Weight
Eat leaner and lighter by selecting fewer high-calorie foods, such as fat from animal sources and refined sugars.
Drink Alcohol In Moderate Amounts
The chance of several kinds of cancer — including cancer of the breast, lung, kidney, colon, and liver — rises with the quantity of alcohol you consume and the time you’ve frequently been drinking.
Limit Processed Meat Consumption
A study by the Cancer Agency of the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer showed that consuming a large quantity of processed meat can slightly raise the chance of developing particular kinds of cancer.
Moreover, women who eat a Mediterranean diet augmented with mixed nuts and extra-virgin olive oil have a lower chance of breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet concentrates mostly on plant-oriented foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. People who enjoy this diet prefer healthy fats like butter, olive oil, and fish instead of red meat.
Maintain A Balanced Weight And Be Physically Active
Achieving and maintaining a balanced weight might reduce the chance of cancer, including breast, lung, colon, prostate, and kidney cancer.
Physical activity such as running, exercising, or playing sports also sums up; moreover, to help you manage your physical activity, weight might reduce the chance of colon and breast cancer.
People who partake in any kind of physical activity get some health benefits. But for great health benefits, attempt to get at least 150 above minutes of less intense aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of high aerobic activity weekly. Adults can also do a combination of vigorous and moderate aerobic activity. Try adding 30 minutes of physical activity to your routine as a specific goal. If you can do more, it’s even better.
Avoid Having Too Much Sun Exposure
Not protecting yourself from the sun may lead to developing skin cancer, one of the most common cancers. However, you may prevent this cancer by adopting the right practices. Follow these preventive tips:
- Avoid sun exposure between 10 and 4 pm, i.e., midday sun.
- Try staying in the shade.
- Cover your skin with bright or dark colors and wear sunglasses.
- Use the recommended sunscreen.
- Avoid using sunlamps or tanning beds.
Go For Regular Medical Care
Regular cancer screening tests are a good way to protect yourself against cancer. These tests help detect early signs of cancer when the condition is most treatable. Consult your healthcare provider to end up with the best schedule for your screening tests.
Conclusion
Being health-conscious and taking routine health checkups are excellent traits. Make it a habit. The fact is that cancer does not influence everyone equally, so your healthcare provider or doctor is a perfect person to examine your current health condition.
Simultaneously, taking unnecessary fear, stress, or tension about your health condition can cause a broad range of stress-induced disorders, which can cause cancer over time.
Experiencing any common symptoms of cancer doesn’t mean you have cancer. But being cautious is nothing bad. Talk to your doctor about your current signs and symptoms. If you are unsure where to take screenings, we have a solution.
Visit University Cancer Centers to receive a proper cancer screening. You can also recommend it to your loved ones experiencing cancer symptoms.
