To detect cancer early, you should observe your body daily, especially during physical activity, eating, and personal hygiene.
The signs when having cancer are usually diverse; patients often experience high fever, nausea, fatigue, pain, and sometimes discover lumps on their bodies or unusual changes in skin color. However, when cancer has manifested all of these signs, it is already at an advanced stage.
Cancer does not progress silently as people often think; before it is detected, there are often many “traces.” However, the majority of these signs are overlooked.
To timely detect the disease, you should observe your body daily, especially during physical activity, eating, and personal hygiene. Below are the precancerous signs that you might notice before and after eating.
- Continuous diarrhea after eating
Prolonged and unexplained diarrhea, stomach pain, and bloody stools may be signs of early-onset colorectal cancer.
Yin Cao, an associate professor of surgery at the School of Public Health at Washington University, states that continuous diarrhea is one of the signs of cancer. However, the concern is not only that the patient but also doctors frequently overlook these symptoms.
Generally, diarrhea or abdominal pain often ends quickly. However, if it lasts for more than a week without a clear cause, it’s advisable to seek medical advice.
- Stomach pain after eating
Feeling stomach pain after every meal shouldn’t be ignored because this could be a warning sign of gastrointestinal cancer.
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, lingering stomach pain, constant diarrhea, or constipation after each meal are signs of gastrointestinal cancers. Therefore, if you feel discomfort or persistent dull aching in your stomach, it’s important to seek immediate diagnosis and comprehensive treatment before the disease progresses malignantly.
- Bitter taste after eating
Feeling a bitter taste after eating or drinking could indicate that you might have acute inflammation such as hepatitis, gallbladder inflammation, etc. Moreover, a bitter mouth is also a sign of cancer.
When diagnosed with cancer, the patient’s salivary components change, and circulation problems in the tongue could also make the patient feel a bitter taste in their mouth.
Besides the bitter mouth, if you feel constant fatigue, ongoing weight loss, lymph node swelling, or high fever, it’s essential to seek cancer screening as soon as possible.
- Noticing abnormal signs inside the mouth
Having long-lasting mouth ulcers, oral pain, or developing white or red patches on the gums, tongue, tonsils, or the mucous membranes inside the mouth are signs of precancerous conditions of oral cancer.
- Difficulty in swallowing
Feeling as if there’s a lump in the throat is a common symptom of acid reflux. Less commonly, when you experience difficulty swallowing, it could be a sign of esophageal cancer. If the feeling doesn’t subside or worsens, it’s advisable to consult a doctor.
Sometimes, some people have cancer without experiencing any noticeable signs; they only discover the disease when it has already spread throughout the body.
For early cancer detection, you need regular health check-ups and screening tests. Ask your doctor if you need any specific tests. If you have a family history of a particular cancer or have been exposed to specific risk factors, the doctor might recommend additional specialized tests.
