Cancers are frequently associated with specific complaints, which are respectively for the particular cancer, such as bloody cough in lung cancer. Many affected people are suffering but also to non-specific symptoms that can occur in many different cancers in the same way. These symptoms can also occur as concomitant symptoms in other diseases (such as the cardiovascular system or the lungs) or as a temporary “mood disorder” in healthy subjects. Someone suffering from such symptoms should therefore not necessarily think immediately of a cancer. Here are just a reliable diagnosis can help to correctly classify the complaints.
Anorexia:
Loss of appetite, decreased appetite or early satiety occur in many cancer patients in the short or long term. Occasionally it can also lead to an aversion to certain foods, such as for meat. As a result, may lose an interested party during such a “no appetite” phase of weight.
Weight Loss:
Also independent of appetite and the amount of daily calories fall on many subjects with a cancer that they lose weight. The reason is that a growing tumor has a high energy demand. Therefore, a part of the energy is supplied in the diet consumed by the tumor and the body is no longer available. The body must then, when food intake is not increased, rely on endogenous reserves. This is usually the body that every man in smaller or larger scale geological storage under the skin. When this fat reserve is depleted, the body attacks the proteins contained in the muscles and builds the muscles from this. The consequences of the consumption of fat and muscle protein are weight loss, a “slimmer” appearance and physical weakness.
Weakness:
A weakness is perceived by cancer patients, often independently of weight loss. Or feel faint, weak and less productive. Pressures or efforts that were easily dealt with before the illness, now appear to be very stressful and can hardly be overcome.
Pain:
In the course of many cancer pain occurs. These are usually due to the fact that the tumor displaces the surrounding tissue grows into adjacent organs or presses on nerves. The location of pain depends on the location of the tumor. It can also occur so-called propagated pain. A pain will not be seen at his place of origin, but in a different region of the body. This may be the case when a tumor presses on a nerve that for a given region of the body “responsible” for the region. For example, pain in the hand can be seen, although a tumor grows in the cervical spine. There, he presses on the spinal nerves springing from the roots, which go with their nerve fibers into the hand.
Fever:
Occasionally, an increase in body temperature to be determined for the fever. But this is a generally rather rare symptom. Somewhat more frequently, it may occur in the context of specific cancers, for example) lymphoma (lymph node cancer), leukemia (blood cancer. Even though in the context of a widening of the liver cancer by “Daughter tumors (metastases) of the original tumor is infected, it may cause a temperature increase. A temperature rise may also occur if a tumor is divided, for example because it has reached a size that an adequate blood supply is no longer allowed to die and therefore some parts of the tumor. It must not be neglected in a temperature increase occurring in a cancer patient that there are other reasons for the increased temperature to be responsible than the cancer itself can, for example, infectious diseases (influenza, cystitis, pneumonia).
Sweating:
Also independent of elevated body temperature may occur in some patients, especially night sweats as additional symptoms. This is observed in particular at a specific type of tumor, a lymphoma (lymph node cancer.
Itching:
Occasionally, patients complain of itching. This symptom occurs particularly in Hodgkin’s disease (a specific lymphatic cancer) and in leukemia (blood cancer). But even where there has been “daughter tumors located in the liver is observed that symptoms of disease. The reason is that in the liver did not produce more bile flow into the duodenum may be because the “daughter of tumors,” so to speak, of the bile “block the way.” Since the bile is continuously produced in the liver, however, it must find other ways. They usually first enters the bloodstream and in the further course of the disease process deposited in the skin. This ensures on the one hand (for a yellowish skin color “jaundice”), on the other hand itching occurs.
All of these “non-specific symptoms” such as decreasing appetite, general physical weakness, declining performance, pain, increased body temperature or fever, sweating and itching, can be very stressful and that restrict everyday activities may be substantial. Important part of any cancer therapy is, therefore, in addition to the actual tumor treatment. This can be done by drugs (eg, to relieve pain and to reduce fever), by means of “physical measures (eg, cooling with cold compresses), fever or through physical therapy (eg, circulation and muscle strengthening exercises for general weakness.
