How Long can you go Without Knowing you have Cancer?

Due to enhanced Symptoms of Cancer, people are living longer than ever after a cancer diagnosis. Routine screenings detect disorders at an early stage when they are easier to cure. It’s natural to have many questions when you read about cancer or learn that a friend or loved one has been diagnosed with cancer.

Is it possible that you have a cancerous tumour someplace in your body? How long do you think you can go without realising you have cancer? Is it necessary to screen you? Some tumours aren’t found until they cause symptoms. And this may happen after the disease has progressed or a tumour has grown large enough to be felt or seen in imaging examinations. 

However, many cancers can be detected early, before symptoms appear. If your cancer is detected and treated early on, you have the highest chance of survival and healthy quality of life. 

Main Types Of Cancers

Cervical Cancer

Symptoms don’t usually occur until cancer has progressed to a later stage. Regular Pap screenings can aid in the detection of precancerous cells and lead to treatment that can prevent them from moving to cancer. 

Breast Cancer

Self-examinations can often discover lumps or other changes in the breast that signal early-stage breast cancer, much as they can with testicular cancer. Mammograms are essential for detecting cancers when they are still small and there are no other visible signs. 

Lung Cancer

Coughing and hoarseness are common symptoms of lung cancer. A physical exam, imaging studies, and a microscopic examination of the sputum will be used to diagnose it (if you produce phlegm when you cough). 

Skin Cancer

Even if you don’t notice any symptoms right away, changes in the appearance of your skin, even little moles or spots, might be early signals of skin cancer. It’s also critical to perform all-over skin checks and to see a dermatologist on a regular basis. 

Kidney Cancer

There are frequently no signs in the early stages of kidney cancer. A complete blood count and physical examination are frequently the earliest signs of malignancy in one or both kidneys. A malignancy that hasn’t gone beyond one kidney usually has a high survival rate.  

Prostate Cancer

There are frequently no symptoms at first. A prostate-specific antigen test, generally included in a man’s routine blood work, can reveal signs in the blood linked to prostate cancer. 

Testicular Cancer

When cancer begins in one or both tests, a man may go years without showing any signs or symptoms. A telltale bump within the scrotum may typically be seen with regular testicular self-checks, but not always. 

Symptoms Of Early Cancer

Weight Loss

consult your doctor if you witness that you are losing an unusual amount of weight for no apparent reason. A weight loss of ten pounds or more may not be cause for concern. It may, however, be the first sign of cancer in some circumstances. 

Fatigue

This isn’t the kind of exhaustion you get after a hard day at work or in sports. Excessive fatigue that does not improve with rest could be an indication of cancer. Because cancer needs the resources in your body to develop and spread, those nutrients are no longer refilling your body. You may feel weary as a result of this “nutrient theft.”

There are numerous underlying causes of weariness, many of which are unrelated to cancer. Call your doctor if your symptoms are severe enough to impair your quality of life. 

Fever

Fever is a frequent symptom of colds and the flu that usually goes away on its own. Recurrent fevers can have specific characteristics that indicate a possible cancer relationship. If any of the following situations apply to you, you should pay particular attention:

• The majority of fevers occur at night.
• There are no additional indicators of infection in your body.
• You wake up with evening sweats.

Pain

Another symptom that can be caused by various health concerns, the majority of which are not cancer, is pain. Persistent pain, on the other hand, may indicate the presence of a disease. Pain can be caused by cancer in a variety of ways, including:

• A tumour or mass pressing on other parts of your body
• The chemicals released by cancer Metastasis 
• Cancer’s spread from its originating location

Skin Change

Our skin is our body’s largest organ and can provide insight into our general health. One sign that could indicate an infection or cancer is jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or fingertips). If you see any signs of jaundice, contact your doctor. Changes in moles can also be caused by concern. 

When Do The First Signs And Symptoms Appear?

When a cancerous tumour or mass has grown large enough to push against neighbouring organs and tissue, blood arteries, and nerves, cancer signs and symptoms typically arise. This can result in pain, a change in the function of surrounding organs, or both. For example, a brain tumour pressing against the optic nerve will impair eyesight.

Some tumours, such as liver and pancreatic tumours, spread quickly. Prostate cancer, on the other hand, is usually a slow-moving disease. This is why many older adults with prostate cancer prescribe medication; they are more likely to die from it than from it. 

Concluding Thoughts!!

If you’re wondering how long you can go without knowing you have cancer, there’s no simple answer. Some cancers might go undetected for months or even years before being discovered. Some cancers that go unnoticed are slow-growing, giving doctors a better chance of treating them successfully. Others are more aggressive, making treatment more difficult. 

Keep up with your prescribed cancer screening schedule and report any signs or symptoms of concern to your doctor as soon as possible to enhance your chances of discovering any cancers early. The sooner you detect cancer and start treatment, the greater your chances of a successful outcome.