World Cancer Day 2021

Today is World Cancer Day 2021. It is really important that if you feel like you have signs or symptoms of cancer, then you should see or speak to a GP.

What are the signs or symptoms you may ask? The NHS.net website has highlighted some really important symptoms to be aware of. For ease, these symptoms are listed below and can also be found on the NHS.net website.

 

Changes in bowel habits

See your GP if you've noticed these changes and it's lasted for more than a few weeks:

  • blood in your poo

  • diarrhoea or constipation for no obvious reason

  • a feeling of not having fully emptied your bowels after going to the toilet

  • pain in your stomach (abdomen) or back passage (anus)

Bloating

See a GP if you've had bloating for 3 weeks or more.

Lump in your breast

See your GP if you notice a lump in your breast or if you have a lump that's rapidly increasing in size elsewhere on your body.

Bleeding

You should also see your GP if you have any unexplained bleeding, such as:

Coughing, chest pain and breathlessness

Contact your GP if you've had a cough for more than 3 weeks.

Symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain may also be a sign of a severe (acute) condition, such as pneumonia. See your GP straight away if you experience these types of symptoms.

Unexplained weight loss

You should also see your GP if you've lost a lot of weight over the last couple of months that cannot be explained by changes to your diet, exercise or stress.

Read about unintentional weight loss.

Moles

See your GP if you have a mole that:

  • changes shape or looks uneven

  • changes colour, gets darker or has more than 2 colours

  • starts itching, crusting, flaking or bleeding

  • gets larger or more raised from the skin

Any of the above changes means there's a chance you have malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer.

-Dr F Al-Ramadani