Any disease, if detected early, can be treated more easily. Even a sore throat can be dealt with faster, if detected and treated just when it is beginning. In case of serious diseases, early detection becomes more important.
Many types of Cancer can be treated easily, if detected early. But unfortunately, many cancers are hard to detect by their very nature. They come to light only when it is too late. And that is why cancer is often called ‘Silent’. It grows silently and stealthily inside without notice.
Then how do we do the regular check-ups of something that we don’t even know might exist in us?
Many early detections of cancer are ‘chance findings’. A routine visit to the gynaecologist may throw up a finding of a suspicious looking lump. It could be a cancerous tumour. A routine blood test for haemoglobin may indicate raised white blood cells. It could be blood cancer. So, never miss your routine check-ups.
Many cancers have symptoms common to not-so-serious diseases. For eg, the most common symptoms of Ovarian cancer are:
1. Abdominal discomfort
2. Abdominal bloating/ swelling
3. Pelvic pain
4. Frequent urination
In themselves, these symptoms do not look serious. Right before our periods start, many of us experience them. I had the first three, right from the time my periods first started. They were routine for me. What took me to a doctor was a rubber-ball feeling I had when I once touched my lower abdomen. I could have ignored it because it had no other suggestion. But there was a gut feeling that the ball that I felt had no business being there. On the third day, I was in a general physician’s office. My CA-125 levels were raised, my ultrasound (sonography) report pointed at a ‘solid’ mass with some fluid in cul-de-sac and other worrying indications. My CT Scan report said that the mass was malignant. On the 15th day from the day I first felt the lump, I was in an operation theatre with a gynaecologist-oncologist (gynaecological cancer specialist). I was lucky that later the biopsy said that it was an endometriotic cyst. But what if it had been cancer as the reports had said? I usually do not go a doctor easily but this time, luckily, I had not wasted time after I first felt that something was amiss. The point is, do not ignore your symptoms even if they look not-so-serious. Go to a doctor.
1. Abdominal discomfort
2. Abdominal bloating/ swelling
3. Pelvic pain
4. Frequent urination
In themselves, these symptoms do not look serious. Right before our periods start, many of us experience them. I had the first three, right from the time my periods first started. They were routine for me. What took me to a doctor was a rubber-ball feeling I had when I once touched my lower abdomen. I could have ignored it because it had no other suggestion. But there was a gut feeling that the ball that I felt had no business being there. On the third day, I was in a general physician’s office. My CA-125 levels were raised, my ultrasound (sonography) report pointed at a ‘solid’ mass with some fluid in cul-de-sac and other worrying indications. My CT Scan report said that the mass was malignant. On the 15th day from the day I first felt the lump, I was in an operation theatre with a gynaecologist-oncologist (gynaecological cancer specialist). I was lucky that later the biopsy said that it was an endometriotic cyst. But what if it had been cancer as the reports had said? I usually do not go a doctor easily but this time, luckily, I had not wasted time after I first felt that something was amiss. The point is, do not ignore your symptoms even if they look not-so-serious. Go to a doctor.
Our bodies have a survival mechanism in-built in them by Nature. When something goes wrong somewhere, our bodies send us signals. When we eat something poisonous, as soon as the body identifies it, it tries to expel it from the system. We throw up. When we overdo a physically taxing activity, our body pulls at us by aching. It tells us to stop before serious damage starts. Similarly, when cancer starts inside, our body tells us that something is wrong. I am not a doctor so I do not know what those exact hints are from the body but I know from experience that our bodies do talk to us. As I mentioned earlier, I used to get abdominal bloating/swelling before the start of my periods. But for last two years, this bloating stopped reducing with the end of periods. I thought that I was growing a paunch due to lack of exercise. My period cycle changed a year and a half back; it shortened from 28 days to 22-24 days. I thought that my age was changing my hormones. But when I first felt a lump in my lower abdomen, I realised that for some time now, my body had been telling me something. I didn’t catch those hints. Listen to your body, its subtle voice, its hints and its nudges. It will tell you that something is going wrong.
Many cancers, unfortunately, are detected only when they are advanced and difficult to treat.
Some common symptoms of cancer are:
Unexplained weight loss
Loss of appetite
Fatigue
Other than these, there are specific symptoms for cancer in women, in men and for specific organs. These may include bleeding, swelling, lumps, pain, frequent fevers, continuous coughing, etc…etc.
Most symptoms are quite common and occur in many other diseases. But…at the cost of being repetitive I will say… Listen to your body, its subtle voice, its hints and its nudges. It will tell you that something is going wrong.
Most symptoms are quite common and occur in many other diseases. But…at the cost of being repetitive I will say… Listen to your body, its subtle voice, its hints and its nudges. It will tell you that something is going wrong.
If you have a family history of cancer, the importance of watchfulness and regular check-ups cannot be emphasised enough!
Cancer can be fought and won over. Many have survived even from fourth stage. But I hope no one has to reach that far to start treatment. Some cancers, like Ovarian cancer, are easy to treat but hard to detect. Only 20% cases of ovarian cancers are detected in the first stage. If only the remaining 80% women had been able to detect it in time! If after reading this, you decide to be more vigilant towards your body, go for check-ups and take care of your health, then my work will be done.
