CANCER
A disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body.
"he's got cancer
" A malignant growth or tumour resulting from an uncontrolled division of cells.
plural noun: cancers
"most skin cancers are curable"
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread.
SYMPTOMS OF CANCER
- Pain. Bone cancer often hurts from the beginning. Some brain tumors cause headaches that last for days and don’t get better with treatment. Pain can also be a late sign of cancer, so see a doctor if you don't know why it’s happening or it doesn’t go away.
- Weight loss without trying. Almost half of people who have cancer lose weight. It’s often one of the signs that they notice first.
- Fatigue. If you’re tired all the time and rest doesn’t help, tell your doctor. Leukemia often wears you out, or you could have blood loss from colon or stomach cancer. Cancer-related weight loss can leave you exhausted, too.
- Fever. If it’s high or lasts more than 3 days, call your doctor. Some blood cancers, like lymphoma, cause a fever for days or even weeks.
- Changes in your skin. Have your doctor look at unusual or new moles, bumps, or marks on your body to be sure skin cancer isn’t lurking. Your skin can also provide clues to other kinds of cancers. If it’s darkened, looks yellow or red, itches, or sprouts more hair, or if you have an unexplained rash, it could be a sign of liver, ovarian, or kidney cancer or lymphoma.
- Sores that don’t heal. Spots that bleed and won’t go away are also signs of skin cancer. Oral cancer can start as sores in your mouth. If you smoke, chew tobacco, or drink a lot of alcohol, you’re at higher risk.
- Cough or hoarseness that doesn’t go away. A cough is one sign of lung cancer, and hoarseness may mean cancer of your voice box (larynx) or thyroid gland.
- Unusual bleeding. Cancer can make blood show up where it shouldn’t be. Blood in your poop is a symptom of colon or rectal cancer. And tumors along your urinary tract can cause blood in your urine.
- Anemia. This is when your body doesn’t have enough red blood cells, which are made in your bone marrow. Cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma can damage your marrow. Tumors that spread there from other places might crowd out regular red blood cells.
