There are more than 200 types of cancer that can affect the human body. While some of these might present with more obvious symptoms allowing a quick diagnosis, others may not.
In some cases the disease can go by undetected for months or even years. And the longer this happens, the lower the chances of survival are.
With this in mind, health experts have warned of three types of cancer that can be particularly hard to detect.
This is because they might be largely symptomless or the symptoms could easily be mistaken for something else.
While these symptoms might not necessarily mean you have cancer, it is important to get them checked by a medical professional nonetheless.
Bowel cancer
As reported by The Mirror, bowel cancer is cancer that’s found anywhere in the large bowel, which includes the colon and rectum. The large bowel is part of your digestive system.
It helps absorb water from your food and removes food waste from your body. How serious bowel cancer is depends on how big the cancer is, if the cancer has spread, and your general health.
Symptoms can include:
- Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
- A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
- A pain or lump in your tummy
Bowel Cancer UK explains: “It’s important to know that most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms. But if you have any of these, or if things just don’t feel right, go to see your GP. You may need to visit your doctor more than once if your symptoms don’t get better.
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“Knowing the symptoms and acting on them as quickly as possible could mean that if you do have bowel cancer, it may be diagnosed earlier when it’s much easier to treat. People whose cancer is diagnosed at an early stage have a much higher chance of successful treatment than those whose cancer has become more widespread.
“Don’t be embarrassed and don’t ignore any symptoms. Doctors are used to seeing lots of people with bowel problems.”
Pancreatic cancer
The pancreas is an organ in the top part of your tummy that helps you digest your food and makes hormones, such as insulin. Pancreatic cancer is often known as a silent disease, and symptoms can often be mistaken for other less serious health conditions.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer can include:
- The whites of your eyes or your skin turn yellow (jaundice), and you may also have itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo than usual
- Loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
- Feeling tired or having no energy
- A high temperature, or feeling hot or shivery
Other symptoms can affect your digestion, such as:
- Feeling or being sick
- Diarrhoea or constipation, or other changes in your poo
- Pain at the top part of your tummy and your back, which may feel worse when you’re eating or lying down and better when you lean forward
- Symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling bloated
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer mostly affects women over the age of 50, but it can affect anyone who has ovaries. The disease is again often labelled a “silent killer,” because warning signs usually develop when the disease has reached an advanced stage, which is largely incurable.
The NHS says that symptoms of ovarian cancer include frequently (roughly 12 or more times a month) having:
- A swollen tummy or feeling bloated
- Pain or tenderness in your tummy or the area between the hips (pelvis)
- No appetite or feeling full quickly after eating
- An urgent need to urinate or needing to urinate more often
Other symptoms of ovarian cancer can include:
- Indigestion
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Back pain
- Feeling tired all the time
- Losing weight without trying
- Bleeding from the vagina after the menopause
If you experience any unexplained symptoms listed in this article, you should speak to your GP.