Types of Cancer: Signs and Symptoms to Know

10 minutes read.

Cancer remains to be one of the leading causes of death in developed and developing nations.

In these modern days, people are living longer than ever after a cancer diagnosis due to improved cancer screenings. Routine screenings catch diseases earlier when they are more straightforward to treat.

Knowing the signs and symptoms of different types of cancer will help in early diagnosis and treatment and saves a lot of life.

However, you don’t need to try and remember all the signs and symptoms of cancer – listen to your body and talk to your doctor if you notice anything that isn’t normal for you.

The signs and symptoms of cancer vary based on the part of the body or organ it affects. But sometimes signs and symptoms may be caused by something less serious. This article will take you through the symptoms of common types of cancer. Feel free to skip ahead.

In this article:

• General cancer symptoms
• Breast cancer
• Lung cancer
• Skin cancer
• Abdominal/ colon cancer
• Leukemia (blood cancer)
• Conclusion

What are the signs and symptoms of cancer?

There are over 200 different types of cancer that can cause many different signs and symptoms. Sometimes symptoms affect specific areas of the body, such as our tummy or skin. But signs can also be more general, and include weight loss, tiredness (fatigue), or unexplained pain.

Some possible signs of cancer, like a lump, are better known than others. But this doesn’t mean they’re more important or more likely to be cancer. It is important to get any possible symptoms of cancer checked out.

Cancer can affect people in different ways. The type of symptoms a person may have can be different from others, and some people don’t have any symptoms. So, you don’t need to remember all the signs and symptoms of cancer.

It’s important to be aware of what is normal for you and speak to your doctor if you notice any unusual changes or something that won’t go away. This can help to diagnose cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely to be successful.

General cancer symptoms include:

• Very heavy night sweats or fever

Sweating at night or having a high temperature (fever) can be caused by infections or a side effect of certain medications. It’s also often experienced by women around the time of menopause.

But speak to your doctor if you have very heavy, drenching night sweats, or unexplained fever.

• Fatigue

There are lots of reasons why you may feel more tired than usual, particularly if you’re going through a stressful event, or having trouble sleeping. But if you’re feeling tired all the time, or, for no clear reason, it could be a sign that something is wrong – speak to your doctor.

• Unexplained bleeding or bruising

Unexplained bleeding or bruising when you have not hurt yourself is important to get checked out by your doctor. This includes blood in your poo or pee, as well as vomiting or coughing up blood.

It also includes any unexplained vaginal bleeding between periods, after sex, or after menopause.  No matter how much blood or what colour it is (blood can be red, or a darker colour like brown or black), speak to your doctor.

• Unexplained pain or ache

Pain is one way our body tells us that something is wrong. As we get older, it’s more common to experience aches and pains. But unexplained or persistent pain anywhere in the body could be a sign of something more serious.

• Unexplained weight loss

Small weight changes over time are quite normal, but if you have lost a noticeable amount of weight without trying to, tell your doctor.

• An unusual lump or swelling anywhere

Persistent lumps or swelling in any part of your body should be taken seriously. This includes any lumps in the neck, armpit, stomach, groin, chest, breast, or testicle.

As I said earlier the signs and symptoms of cancer vary based on the part of the body or organ affected.

Now let’s look at the signs and symptoms of specific common cancer.

Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

The first symptom of breast cancer most people notice is a lump in their breast or some thickening.

Breast symptoms to look out for:

• a new lump or thickening in your breast or armpit
• a change in the size, shape, or feel of your breast
• skin changes in the breast such as puckering, dimpling, a rash or redness of the skin
• fluid leaking from the nipple in a woman who isn’t pregnant or breastfeeding
• changes in the position of the nipple.

Breast lump

Most breast lumps are not cancer. Lumps that aren’t cancerous are called benign lumps.

Most benign breast lumps are:

• areas of normal lumpiness that are more obvious just before a period
• cysts – sacs of fluid in the breast tissue, which are quite common
• fibroadenoma – a collection of fibrous glandular tissue (these are common in younger women, for example under 30)

It is important to often get a breast lump checked by your doctor. They will arrange for you to have tests to find out whether your lump is cancerous or not.

A lump or swelling in your armpit

You can’t usually feel the lymph glands in your body. But they often become swollen when you have an infection or a cold, including the lymph nodes in the armpit.

A less common cause of swollen lymph glands or lump in the armpit is breast cancer that has spread to this area.

Change in size, shape, or feel of your breast

Cancer might cause your breast to look bigger or have a different shape than usual, it might feel different.

Many healthy women find that their breasts feel lumpy and tender just before their period.

It can help to be breast aware. This means getting to know the size, shape, and feel of your breasts.

Fluid leaking from your nipple

Fluid leaking from a nipple in a woman who isn’t pregnant or breastfeeding can be a sign of cancer. But other medical conditions can also cause this.

Change in the position of your nipple

One nipple might turn in or sink into the breast. It might look or feel different from usual.

Do see your doctor if you notice anything different or unusual with one or both nipples.

Breast pain

Breast pain is very common and it’s not normally due to cancer. You might get pain in one or both breasts for a while, especially some days before for some people, which goes after a time.

Sometimes it may be the position you took on the bed while sleeping the nature of the work you do or too much stress. They might be no obvious reason for this pain.

Do see your doctor if you have breast pain that refuses to go away unusually. They can give you advice on how to treat the pain and whether you need any tests.

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Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms

A rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer can have different symptoms from other types.

Your whole breast might look red and inflamed and feel sore. The breast might feel hard and the skin might look like orange peel. See your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

Paget’s disease of the breast

This is a rare skin condition that is sometimes a sign of underlying breast cancer. The symptoms are red, scaly rash on the nipple and surrounding area. This can be itchy and looks a bit like eczema. It is sometimes mistaken for eczema at first.

See your doctor if you have any changes in the skin of your breast.

Your symptoms may not be due to breast cancer, and they may not make you feel unwell. But it is important that any symptoms you have be checked by a doctor, even if you are feeling well.

The earlier a cancer is picked up, the easier it is to treat it and the more likely the treatment is to be successful.

Note

These symptoms listed here are more often caused by other medical conditions. But if you have any of them it is important to see your doctor.

Signs and Symptoms of Lung cancer

Lung cancer doesn’t always cause symptoms in its early stages. Many of the signs and symptoms can also be caused by other medical conditions but finding lung cancer early can mean that it’s easier to treat. So if you notice any symptoms or changes get them checked out by your doctor as soon as possible. 

The most common symptoms of lung cancer are:

• having a new cough or a cough most of the time
• getting out of breath doing the things you used to do without a problem
• coughing up phlegm (sputum) with blood in it
• having an ache or pain in the chest or shoulder
• chest infections that keep coming back or a chest infection that doesn’t get better
• losing your appetite
• feeling tired all the time (fatigue)
• losing weight

Lung changes that show on an X-ray

Sometimes doctors might find some unusual changes on your chest X-ray. Your doctor might have arranged an x-ray for other reasons, and you might not have any symptoms.

Changes on a chest X-ray don’t always mean that you have lung cancer. There can be other causes, such as an infection. But your doctor might arrange other tests to look further at the changes.

Changes in the shape of your fingers and fingernails

Some people have swollen fingers and nails (finger clubbing). This is more common in non-small cell lung cancer.

They may also have pain and swelling in their joints. This condition is called hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPOA).

Hormone-related symptoms

It is rare, but some types of lung cancer cells produce hormones that go into the bloodstream. These hormones can cause symptoms that don’t seem related to lung cancer. Doctors call them paraneoplastic syndrome. It is more common in small-cell lung cancer.

These hormone symptoms might include:

• feeling and being sick (nausea and vomiting)
• headaches
• confusion or trouble thinking clearly
• feeling weak or tired
• feeling restless or irritable
• muscle weakness, spasms, cramps, or aches
• seizures or passing out
• difficulty walking and climbing stairs
• difficulty lifting objects or raising the arms
• drooping eyelids, dry eyes, and blurred vision
• swallowing problems
• dizziness when standing up
• a dry mouth
• constipation
• not being able to get and maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction)
• the strength that temporarily improves when exercising, but then reduces as exercise continues.

Pancoast tumors

A very rare type of lung cancer growing right at the top of the lung is called a Pancoast tumor. These tumors cause very specific symptoms.

The most common symptom is severe shoulder pain. Pain might travel down the arm or up the head and neck.

Pancoast tumors can also cause a collection of symptoms called Horner’s syndrome. These are:

• drooping or weakness of one eyelid
• a small pupil in the same eye
• loss of sweating on one side of the face

The symptoms of Horner syndrome are caused by the tumor pressing on or damaging a nerve that runs up from the neck to that side of the face.

You might have other symptoms if you have advanced cancer.

Related: What’s Cancer and How Is It Developed?

Related: How to Relieve Cancer Pain & Stress Naturally

Signs and Symptoms of Skin Cancer

Skin cancers can look very different and the symptoms can vary. Some of the symptoms are similar to other conditions.

Common symptoms of skin cancer include a sore on the area of the skin that:

• doesn’t heal within 4 weeks
• looks unusual
• hurts, is itchy, bleeds, crusts, or scabs for more than 4 weeks

Here are some of the symptoms to look out for:

• A sore that doesn’t heal

The sore can look see-through, shiny, and pink or pearly white. They can also look red. It may feel sore, and rough, and have raised edges.

• Ulcer

Look out for an area of skin that has broken down (an ulcer) and doesn’t heal within 4 weeks, and you can’t think of a reason for this change.

• A lump

This might be small, slow growing, shiny, and pink or red.

• Red patches on your skin

These red patches could also be itchy. This could be due to other non-cancerous skin conditions. But get it checked to make sure.

• Freckles or moles

A change to a mole or freckle can be a sign of another type of skin cancer called melanoma.

Tips

Non-melanoma skin cancer tends to develop most often on skin exposed to the sun.

This may be more common among white than black skin people.

To spot skin cancer early it helps to know how your skin normally looks. That way, you’ll notice any changes more easily.

To look at areas you can’t see easily, you could try using a handheld mirror and reflecting your skin onto another mirror. Or you could get your partner or a friend to look. This is very important if you’re regularly outside in the sun for work or leisure.

You can take a photo of anything that doesn’t look quite right. If you can, it’s a good idea to put a ruler or tape measure next to the abnormal area when you take the photo. This gives you a more accurate idea about its size and can help you tell if it’s changing. You can then show these pictures to your doctor.

Signs and Symptoms of Colon Cancer

Symptoms of bowel cancer (abdominal cancer) can include a change in your normal bowel habit or blood in your poo (stool). They can also be symptoms for other conditions, but it’s important to see your doctor.

Bowel cancer can start in the large bowel (colon cancer) or back passage (rectal cancer). It is also called colorectal cancer.

Possible symptoms of colon cancer include:

• bleeding from the back passage (rectum) or blood in your poo
• a change in your normal bowel habit, such as looser poo, pooing more often, or constipation
• a lump that your doctor can feel in your back passage or tummy (abdomen), more commonly on the right side
• a feeling of needing to strain in your back passage (as if you need to poo), even after opening your bowels
• losing weight
• pain in your abdomen or back passage
• tiredness and breathlessness caused by a lower-than-normal level of red blood cells (anemia)

Sometimes cancer can block the bowel. This is called a bowel obstruction.

The symptoms include:

• cramping pains in the abdomen
• feeling bloated
• constipation and being unable to pass wind
• being sick

A bowel obstruction is an emergency. You should see your doctor quickly or go to A&E at your nearest hospital if you think you have a bowel obstruction.

Blood in your poo

Blood in your poo (stools or feces) can be a sign of bowel cancer. But it is often due to other causes. See your GP if you are worried about any symptoms that you think could be caused by cancer in the bowel.

Most often, blood in the stool is from piles (hemorrhoids), especially if it is bright red, fresh blood. Piles are like swollen veins in the back passage. These veins are fragile and can easily get damaged when you have a poo, causing a little bleed.

Blood from higher up in the bowel doesn’t look bright red. It goes dark red or black and can make your poo look like tar. This type of bleeding can be a sign of cancer higher up the bowel. Or it could be from a bleeding stomach ulcer for example

Tips

Go to see your GP if you are worried about any of the symptoms mentioned above.

Remember these symptoms can be caused by other conditions. Many of these are much less serious than cancer, such as piles (hemorrhoids), infections, or inflammatory bowel disease.

Leukemia (blood cancer)

Leukemia also known as blood cancer is the production of abnormal white blood cells from bone marrow and lymphatic tissues.

Excess production of such white blood cells affects the production of normal blood cells, which are essential to fight infections, carry oxygen, and help clot blood.

Such abnormal cell production can be fast, making it acute leukemia or a relatively slower process leading to chronic leukemia.

Treatment depends on the type of leukemia but generally involves chemotherapy.

Signs and Symptoms of Leukemia

Common symptoms include:

• recurrent infections,
• weight loss,
• fatigue and fevers,
• abdominal pain,
• and bleeding.

Multiple types of leukemia are present, and they require evaluation by a hematologist for further guidance on treatment.

Conclusion

Each type of cancer has specific symptoms but some signs and symptoms presented in all cancer cases may be common in all types of cancer.

However, some other critical health conditions may present similar symptoms.

Therefore it’s wise to speak up when you notice any abnormal changes in any part of your body. Speaking early will help in early diagnosis and successful healing.

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