Signs is a signal that is identified by self or the other person say a loved one, doctor, nurse or a health care professional. Sings for any disease can be fever, fast breathing, abnormal lung sounds or any other. Such signs indicate that there is something wrong in the body. symptom is just similar to sign. Symptoms are more specific because they show similarity to a particular disease. For example, weakness, aching, and feeling short of breath may be symptoms of pneumonia.

1. Signs and symptoms do not specify a particular disease. One sign can indicate many diseases. For instance, a rash in a child’s body can be a sign of anything such as poison ivy, measles, a skin infection, or a food allergy. But if the child has the rash along with other signs and symptoms like a high fever, chills, achiness, and a sore throat, then consultation of doctor is necessary. Sometimes, a patient’s signs and symptoms still don’t give the doctor enough clues to be sure what is causing the illness. In such cases medical tests, such as x-rays, blood tests, or a biopsy can give a clear picture of the disease.
[AdsWithin]
2. Cancer is a group of diseases and there are many signs and symptoms that can indicate cancer. The signs and symptoms of cancer depend upon the type of cancer a person is having, how big the cancer is and what level has it reached. Accordingly, signs and symptoms may appear on different parts of the body. As cancer grows, it spreads in different parts like blood vessels and nerves. This pressure causes the signs and symptoms.

3. Sometimes cancer doesn’t indicate any signs or symptoms unless it becomes very large. For example, cancers of pancreas do not give any signs until they grow large enough. By the time a pancreatic cancer causes signs or symptoms like yellow eyes or any other, the disease is usually in an advanced stage. This means it has grown and spread beyond the place it started.

4. Symptoms of cancer can also be fever, extreme tiredness, or weight loss. These symptoms occur due to excessive usage of body’s energy supply by the infected cells. Cancer causes the immune system to react in different ways which leads to such symptoms.

5. Cancer cells sometimes cause symptoms which are not related to cancer. This happens because cancer cells release substances into the bloodstream. For example, some cancers of the pancreas release substances that cause blood clots in veins of the legs. Some lung cancers make hormone-like substances that raise blood calcium levels. This affects nerves and muscles, making the person feel weak and dizzy.

Cancer is of many types and every cancer has different types of symptoms and signs. These may not be related to each other and sometimes may be similar as well. Also signs of symptoms of cancer might not be seen in the initial stage but can be visible at the last stage as well.

When cancer is found early, treatment works the best. It is because cancer is small at this time and is less likely to spread in the body. Therefore there is a chance that the patient can be cured or the cancer can be operated. An example for such could be melanoma skin cancer. This cancer is curable so if found out early, the patient is saved. It would be easy to remove the cancer if it has not gone deep into the skin. Early symptoms or signs can be really helpful in case of such cancers where there is cure to an extent. According to a study, 97% of people survive in case of such cancer after 5 years of diagnosis.  Once the disease spreads, 97% drops down to 20% survival rate.

Symptoms are sometimes ignored by people because they assume that nothing is wrong or the fear of what the symptom would lead to makes people take no action of the symptom indication. Symptoms such as tiredness or cough are signs of even other diseases unlike cancer. The symptoms may be unimportant if the problem lasts for a certain period of time. Every symptom or sign necessarily doesn’t mean that there could be something wrong. Sometimes people ignore symptoms. Maybe they don’t know that the symptoms could mean something is wrong. Or they might be frightened by what the symptoms could mean and don’t want to get or can’t afford to get medical help. Some symptoms, such as tiredness or coughing, are more likely caused by something other than cancer. Every symptom may mean one disease or no disease. Since many diseases have common symptoms or signs it is difficult to identify the exact disease. Hence, no symptom should be ignored or overlooked, especially if it has lasted a long time or is getting worse and should be consulted to a doctor. Most symptoms may not be indications of cancer but it is important to check as prevention is always better than cure. A doctor will figure out what any other disease could be and what is the treatment if not cancer.
[AdsWithin]
Cancer can also be identified without symptoms. According to The American Cancer Society and other health groups cancer related checkups on a routine bases even in the people who don’t have cancer should be done regularly. This will help in detecting cancer even before any symptoms or sign appear in the body. Apart from these recommendations it is important to consult a doctor immediate when strange symptoms appear. It is important to know some general signs and symptoms of cancer and simultaneously it is important to remember that every such sign may not mean cancer. Many other things cause these signs and symptoms, too. If you have any of these symptoms and they last for a long time or get worse, please see a doctor to find out what’s going on. So, signs and symptoms are very important in case of cancer as they can help cure it.

Some of the symptoms of cancer are:

• Unexplained weight loss:

Most people tend to lose weight at time of cancer. When a person loses weight for no reason, it categorises under unexplained weight loss. The first sign of cancer may be loss of 10 pounds or more. Unexplained weight loss occurs mainly in cancers of the pancreas, stomach, oesophagus or lung.

• Fever:

One of the most common things in cancer is fever. Generally this happens after the cancer has spread through the body from the point of its start. In some cases of cancer like blood cancer, fever appears in the initial stage. Fever makes it difficult for the body to fight with diseases and the treatment affects the immune system.

• Fatigue:

Extreme tiredness that does not improve even with rest is known as fatigue. It is one of the important symptoms during the growth of cancer.

• Pain:

An early symptom of cancer could be pain in the body .Extreme head pains that do not go even with medication are symptoms of brain tumor. Most of the cancer pains indicate that it has already spread in the body.

• Skin changes:

Along with skin cancer; there can be some visible skin change symptoms of cancer. These can be-Hyper pigmentation or skin darkening, jaundice or yellowish skin, puritis or itching and excessive hair growth or excessive hair loss.

Apart from these symptoms there are also some common signs and symptoms which could mean cancer. They are:

• Change in bowel habits or bladder function:

A sign of colon cancer could be change in the size of stool or when drops of blood are noticed in stool or urine and pain while passing urine. If these signs are noticed, immediately a doctor should be consulted as these symptoms could indicate prostate or colon cancer.

• Sores that do not heal:

In case of skin cancers, sores might bleed and not heal. Sores in the mouth for a long time could indicate oral cancer. Sores in the vaginal area should be immediately consulted by a health professional.

• Unusual bleeding or discharge:

This could indicate kidney cancer or breast cancer depending on the bleeding from which part of the body. This could mean kidney cancer or lung cancer or breast cancer. The bleeding area should be immediately shown to a doctor and the symptom should not be ignored.

• Thickening or lump in the breast or other parts of the body:

Generally or mostly cancers are felt through skin. A lump or thickening in some parts of the body may be a symptom of an early stage of cancer.

• Trouble in swallowing or indigestion:

Indigestion or swallowing problems that don’t go away may be signs of cancer of the oesophagus or pharynx (throat). But like most symptoms, they are most often caused by something other than cancer.

• Recent change in a wart or mole or any new skin change:

Any wart, mole, or freckle that changes colour, size, or shape, or that loses its sharp border should be seen by a doctor right away. A skin change may be a melanoma which, if found early, can be treated successfully.

• Nagging cough or hoarseness:

A cough that does not go away may be a sign of lung cancer. Again, cough for a longer time could also mean anything other than cancer like tuberculosis.