Did you know about these body parts where cancer spreads without you even realizing it?
Many of us have gotten used to the idea that cancer generally attaches itself to a specific part of the body; however, there are other body parts where cancer spreads without the person even realizing it. This happens when the cancerous cells break apart from their initial location, migrate through the blood or even the lymphatic system, and then relocate elsewhere, spreading the disease to another body part.
While this sounds terrifying, it is something to keep in mind if we have someone close who is experiencing cancer or if we are in that position. It is not about scaring yourself, but rather about staying informed and understanding how the disease works, especially if you know where cancer spreads.
This spreading issue has been the cause of why a lot of cancers are considered advanced or in their last stages: it is not that the initial location of the disease is incurable, but rather that because it was not caught in time, other body parts where cancers spread have become too affected.
To find out where cancer can spread and what symptoms can indicate this issue, make sure to keep reading!
Have you or someone you know ever had to deal with a situation where cancer spreads to other body parts? Let us know your experience in the comments!
Bone metastasis happens when cancer cells from other organs spread to the bones. This can cause many problems and difficulties, such as broken bones and pain. Of all the types of cancer, most of them can spread to the bones, yet there are some that are mainly known to do so.
Bone metastasis can appear in any bone but is more common in the upper leg bone (femur), the ribs, the skull, the hip bone, or the upper arm bone. When you have bone cancer, your body is either making too much bone or breaking it down too fast. Both of these sudden changes can make your bones break more easily.
In this article, we are going to find out what cancers are known to cause bone metastasis more commonly and the symptoms of this condition.
This is among the most common forms of cancer. It affects the colon and the rectum, two organs in the lower region of the digestive system that function similarly, which is why they are grouped together. The colon retains waste and collects water and food, whereas the rectum excretes bodily waste.
Usually, if you find out about the cancer early enough, it can be treated, and the chances of recovery are pretty high. On the other hand, this type of cancer can be sneaky and spread really fast, leading to metastasis. At this stage, the cancer has spread to other organs. The most common ones are the liver, lungs, brain, and distant lymph nodes.
Did you ever wonder if your skincare is as safe as it first appears?
Despite most of us using multiple skincare products every day, there is a surprising lack of laws about what can be in them and what cannot. Despite the FDA making sure to have regulations in place, there are a lot of additives that have been labeled as carcinogens that are still used in skincare products, even if they are known.
One of the best ways to make sure that there are no ingredients that are linked to developing cancer in the products that you are using is to read the ingredients list! Yet, it can be really confusing with how specialized the terms are, and not everyone has the time to sit down and memorize lists of chemical terms. We’ve gathered some of the most common ones here to make it easier to find them and understand why they’re so dangerous!
Do your skincare products contain any of these carcinogens?
You’d be right if you thought that the most common symptoms of lung cancer involve the lungs. In fact, constant coughing, coughing up blood or excessive mucus, shortness of breath, and chest discomfort are all typical signs of lung cancer. That is not always true, though. In reality, there are a number of unexpected signs and symptoms that might signal lung cancer.
• Roughly 236,740 new cases of lung cancer (that’s117,910 in men and 118,830 in women);
• Roughly 130,180 deaths from lung cancer (that’s68,820 in men and 61,360 in women).
This disease primarily affects the elderly. The majority of those who are diagnosed are 65 or older; just a tiny minority of people who are diagnosed are under 45. The typical age at which people are diagnosed with lung cancer is around 70.
Photo by SciePro from Shutterstock
The lifetime risk of developing lung cancer
Overall, a man’s lifetime risk of developing lung cancer is around 1 in 15; for a woman, the risk is about 1 in 17. These figures include persons who smoke as well as those who do not. People who smoke are at a significantly higher risk, whereas those who do not smoke are at a lesser risk.
What kinds of symptoms would be unexpected or surprising? The following symptoms may not appear to be related to our lungs, yet they are often signs of lung cancer.
…Have you ever wondered if there are any cancer symptoms people tend to ignore?
Cancer is the disease the majority of people are really scared of. We know that there is no simple cure that will help patients get rid of any type of cancer. Some of the treatments available might treat some people, while others might give them more time, even years or decades.
Screenings are really important for detecting a cancer tumor before the symptoms even begin. Some experts even say that you might be able to pick up on early warning signs by yourself if you pay attention to the unusual changes your body goes through. If you notice that there are some significant changes in your body that last several weeks, you should reach out to your doctor.
Of course, not every symptom can actually be cancer, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay attention to them. So if this is one of your biggest concerns, here are 10 cancer symptoms people usually ignore until it’s too late!
Is there such a thing as an anti-cancer diet? There isn’t one per se, but for years people have been putting together a list of foods and ingredients that are known and proven to help with stopping the development of cancer cells in the human body. This effectively makes up a list of foods that, if added to your diet, will lower the risk of cancer development. It may not sound like something you need to partake in, but even if you don’t have a history of cancer in your family, the anti-cancer diet is something that you should look into anyway.
Not only are a lot of the foods on this cancer diet list good for your health in general, but the American Cancer Society recommends certain fruits or vegetables themselves. Moreover, you should generally be eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Why not add some anti-cancer diet foods to the list of benefits?
Don’t let the word diet fool you; no one is recommending you any diets in the true meaning of the word. You won’t have to measure any quantities or count any calories for this one. But rather, it’s a list of good foods and cooking ingredients you should add to your meal rotation in order to boost your chances of not contracting cancer. What’s there to lose when all of these are healthy, tasty, and come with a ton of health benefits?
Let us know if you knew about the anti-cancer diet food list before or if you discovered it today!
Like with a lot of types of cancer, lung cancer generally doesn’t give any indication that it is present in your body. It doesn’t cause symptoms that you can see or feel that will let you know immediately that it is this type of cancer, and the other symptoms that you may be developing might be very different than what you expect when you think of cancer.
In later stages, you will indeed get some of the symptoms we all envision when we think of lung diseases, like wheezing, chest pain, and the never-pleasing cough. But until you get to these or accompany them, there are a lot of less known side effects that can show up that you may disregard at first glance.
Generally, we are prone to ignoring all types of symptoms until they get really bad, but when these types of reactions can lead to you losing your life, you should definitely not treat them lightly. Obviously, these aren’t just cancer symptoms, but with lung cancer, it is better to know what to look for than to disregard any of these, at times, common symptoms as something trivial.
Keep on reading to find out some of the lesser-known yet important symptoms of lung cancer, and let us know if you knew about them beforehand!
Photo by Ruslan_127 from shutterstock.com
#1 Lung Cancer’s (or any type of cancer) Dead Giveaway: Weight Change
There are two things that can happen to people who develop small-cell lung cancer (and it stays true for other types of cancer as well).
They can end up developing Cushing’s syndrome, which will make them gain weight because the cancer will convince your body to make too many ACTH hormones, which will raise the level of cortisol in your body. This will lead to a lot of fluid retention and increased and rapid weight gain, along with the fact that you will bruise easily and feel drowsy.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can develop hypercalcemia (a disorder that will make you have way too much calcium in your blood), and SIADH (a hormonal issue that affects your kidneys) will end up making you lose your appetite, which in turn will make you shed pounds like crazy despite you not even trying.
While some may see this as a good thing, drastic and sudden weight changes are never a good sign, and if this sounds like you or someone you know, it is high time you start looking into what is causing this weight fluctuation before it becomes too serious.
#2 Mental Health Issues
We all know that being diagnosed with cancer will end up taking a big toll on your mental health. But what a Danish study has revealed is that there is an actual correlation between cancer and mental health way before you get a diagnosis. Researchers found out that there is an increased risk for people to develop small cell lung cancer if they had gone to see a mental health professional for the first time in that year.
This is because people who have gone to get treated for anxiety, depression, or dementia ended up being diagnosed the same year with this type of cancer. It seems to be because this type of lung cancer directly impacts your hormones or immune system, and it can spread all the way to the brain, messing things up there as well.
Moreover, due to it being very closely linked with high calcium levels, if you aren’t yet diagnosed, these high levels can cause muddled thinking, confusion, and may even trigger depression. It’s not 100% certain that all people who have these mental health issues also have cancer, but it does show that cancer can impact our mental well-being way before we realize we live with the disease.
Photo by siam.pukkato from shutterstock.com
#3 Stomach Problems
Almost 2 people out of 10 that have cancer end up developing hypercalcemia, which is a condition that causes you to have very high calcium levels in your blood. This can end up giving you stomach problems, which manifest as painful cramps and belly aches and can make you nauseated or constipated.
This condition can also curb your appetite and make you really thirsty. It may not sound like anything related to lung cancer, but many patients actually end up developing hypercalcemia. Others end up having the tumors make a hormone-like substance that will mess with your kidneys, which in turn can give you more cramps and nausea. It’s something to keep an eye out for, especially if you know you haven’t eaten anything weird lately and if it keeps persisting.
#4 Swollen Breasts in Men
While it is quite rare for lung cancer to cause gynecomastia, it is still a possibility, and it shouldn’t be ignored as it is a symptom. For men who develop large cell lung cancer, their hormonal balance can be thrown off, which in turn will cause the breast tissue to swell and be tender. It may sound funny to some, but it’s a very telling sign that something is definitely off, and men who experience these symptoms should seek medical help immediately.
#5 Being Off-Balance
Small cell lung cancer (which is hard to pinpoint due to all the other side effects it causes) can trick your immune system into attacking your nervous system; this can manifest in your muscles no longer working properly. It can cause you to have difficulty standing up from a seated position or just throw your balance off completely, making you unsteady on your feet.
It can add to your anemia, making you even dizzy. Or you could end up being off-balance and dizzy due to your superior vena cava being blocked; blood wouldn’t effectively travel between your heart and head due to a tumor in your upper right lung, and this can end up causing you way more problems. If your sense of balance starts to be affected, it would be a good idea to go check in with a doctor.
#6 Aching Joints and Weakness
When lung cancer metastasizes (meaning it gets so advanced that it spreads throughout the body), the cancerous cells end up traveling to your bones and through your blood to other parts of your body, where they form new tumors or lesions. They will attack your bones, making them way more fragile and easy to break, as well as generally painful due to the damage they sustain and even cause a mineral imbalance from hypercalcemia or SIADH, which will make you hurt all over and feel overall weak.
If they end up affecting your nervous system, you can end up with weak muscles, which will make everything that we think about every day difficult: even easy tasks like swallowing or even speaking! If you start to feel all your joints aching, or you’re generally getting more aches and sometimes feel weak, you shouldn’t just ignore these symptoms.
Photo by Dragana Gordic from shutterstock.com
#7 Heart Issues
Hypercalcemia and anemia are two common diseases associated with non-small cell lung cancer that can be developed due to cancer, but even before you can catch them or realize you have them, they can end up affecting your heart: they can cause an irregular or fast heartbeat.
If you have severe anemia, it can cause you to have shortness of breath and even chest pains as a side effect of the tumors. Likewise, severe hypercalcemia will come with heart issues, and it can cause you to have a heart attack and even send you into a coma. If you suspect something is wrong, you should see a specialist as fast as possible so you can prevent any severe reactions.
Photo by Photoroyalty from Shutterstock
#8 Back and Shoulder Pain
Pancoast tumor is a rare type of lung cancer in which small tumors grow in the upper part of your lungs before spreading to your ribs, down all the vertebrae in your spine, to your blood vessels, and even to your nervous system. Because they are so small when compared to other types of tumors and because of where they are located, they rarely end up affecting your respiratory system, which makes them hard to detect.
This type of lung cancer is more likely to cause you pain in your shoulders and upper back, and you can develop pain in your arms and other symptoms way before you’d have any problems with your lungs. This is why you should never ignore these types of pain, as you can never know what could be causing them.
#9 Easily Ignored Lung Cancer Sign: Problems with Your Eyes
Also associated with Pancoast tumors, they can not only localize pain and trouble in your shoulders and back, but they can affect the nerves pretty badly as well. This can end up causing problems with parts of your face and even your eyes! It’s called Horner syndrome, and it can end up causing your eyelids to droop, among other symptoms. You will definitely be tipped off that something is wrong, as another common one is not sweating on that side of your face with the affected eyelid.
This type of small-cell lung cancer may be rare, but it is a slow killer that affects your nervous system pretty badly, and it can be confused with something else, especially since it can give you problems with seeing as well. A good course of action is to go see a specialist when you think that something is wrong and not wait for it to get worse.
#10 Extremely Puffy Face, Neck, or Arm
If there is a tumor on your vena cava, then there is a high chance that it will stop the blood flow as the tumor will end up choking the vein. When that happens, blood from the upper part of your body has nowhere else to go since its normal circulation is obstructed. This is why you should keep an eye out if you have puffy arms, neck, or even face for an extended period of time: these parts of your body will swell from the extra fluid that is just waiting to pass through.
This is a sign of lung cancer that generally ends up being chalked up as something else, but you should be very careful as, even if it’s not this type of cancer, it’s still a sign of a serious health problem. Not to mention, if you observe this type of puffiness and then you also see that the skin on your chest is getting a blue-red tint, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
Read more about generally encountered early signs of cancer that you shouldn’t put aside here!
As time has gone on and the medical field has become more and more experienced, so has cancer research evolved as well. There have been many improvements made, and nowadays you can catch cancer in its early stages much more frequently than it was done even a decade ago. Despite this, there are still a lot of early stage cancers that are very hard to detect.
This can happen not only due to the fact that they are in places that are hard to see on normal screenings, but also because they end up giving the patient symptoms or showing signs only when the disease has evolved past its initial stages. When tumors have reached an advanced stage in most of these hard to detect cancers, they can not only be extremely hard to remove, but they can end up spreading around to neighboring organs as well, making tackling them even more difficult.
