Cancer - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Find out the basics about cancer, including symptoms, causes and treatments. Learn steps you can take to prevent cancer. COVID-19:Advice,updatesandvaccineoptions Weareopenforsafein-personcare. Learnmore: MayoClinicfactsaboutcoronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19) OurCOVID-19patientandvisitorguidelines,plustrustedhealthinformation Lateston COVID-19vaccination bysite: Arizonapatientvaccinationupdates Arizona, Floridapatientvaccinationupdates Florida, Rochesterpatientvaccinationupdates Rochesterand MayoClinicHealthSystempatientvaccinationupdates MCHS Skiptositenavigation SkiptoContent ThiscontentdoesnothaveanEnglishversion.ThiscontentdoesnothaveanArabicversion. SectionsforCancerSymptoms&causesDiagnosis&treatmentDoctors&departmentsCareatMayoClinic Print OverviewCancerreferstoanyoneofalargenumberofdiseasescharacterizedbythedevelopmentofabnormalcellsthatdivideuncontrollablyandhavetheabilitytoinfiltrateanddestroynormalbodytissue.Canceroftenhastheabilitytospreadthroughoutyourbody. Canceristhesecond-leadingcauseofdeathintheworld.Butsurvivalratesareimprovingformanytypesofcancer,thankstoimprovementsincancerscreening,treatmentandprevention.Products&ServicesBook:LiveYoungerLongerBook:MayoClinicFamilyHealthBook,5thEditionMayoClinicCancerCenterNewsletter:MayoClinicHealthLetter—DigitalEditionShowmoreproductsfromMayoClinic SymptomsSignsandsymptomscausedbycancerwillvarydependingonwhatpartofthebodyisaffected. Somegeneralsignsandsymptomsassociatedwith,butnotspecificto,cancer,include: Fatigue Lumporareaofthickeningthatcanbefeltundertheskin Weightchanges,includingunintendedlossorgain Skinchanges,suchasyellowing,darkeningorrednessoftheskin,soresthatwon'theal,orchangestoexistingmoles Changesinbowelorbladderhabits Persistentcoughortroublebreathing Difficultyswallowing Hoarseness Persistentindigestionordiscomfortaftereating Persistent,unexplainedmuscleorjointpain Persistent,unexplainedfeversornightsweats Unexplainedbleedingorbruising WhentoseeadoctorMakeanappointmentwithyourdoctorifyouhaveanypersistentsignsorsymptomsthatconcernyou. Ifyoudon'thaveanysignsorsymptoms,butareworriedaboutyourriskofcancer,discussyourconcernswithyourdoctor.Askaboutwhichcancerscreeningtestsandproceduresareappropriateforyou. RequestanAppointmentatMayoClinic CausesCanceriscausedbychanges(mutations)totheDNAwithincells.TheDNAinsideacellispackagedintoalargenumberofindividualgenes,eachofwhichcontainsasetofinstructionstellingthecellwhatfunctionstoperform,aswellashowtogrowanddivide.Errorsintheinstructionscancausethecelltostopitsnormalfunctionandmayallowacelltobecomecancerous. Whatdogenemutationsdo?Agenemutationcaninstructahealthycellto: Allowrapidgrowth.Agenemutationcantellacelltogrowanddividemorerapidly.Thiscreatesmanynewcellsthatallhavethatsamemutation. Failtostopuncontrolledcellgrowth.Normalcellsknowwhentostopgrowingsothatyouhavejusttherightnumberofeachtypeofcell.Cancercellslosethecontrols(tumorsuppressorgenes)thattellthemwhentostopgrowing.Amutationinatumorsuppressorgeneallowscancercellstocontinuegrowingandaccumulating. MakemistakeswhenrepairingDNAerrors.DNArepairgeneslookforerrorsinacell'sDNAandmakecorrections.AmutationinaDNArepairgenemaymeanthatothererrorsaren'tcorrected,leadingcellstobecomecancerous. Thesemutationsarethemostcommononesfoundincancer.Butmanyothergenemutationscancontributetocausingcancer. Whatcausesgenemutations?Genemutationscanoccurforseveralreasons,forinstance: Genemutationsyou'rebornwith.Youmaybebornwithageneticmutationthatyouinheritedfromyourparents.Thistypeofmutationaccountsforasmallpercentageofcancers. Genemutationsthatoccurafterbirth.Mostgenemutationsoccurafteryou'rebornandaren'tinherited.Anumberofforcescancausegenemutations,suchassmoking,radiation,viruses,cancer-causingchemicals(carcinogens),obesity,hormones,chronicinflammationandalackofexercise. Genemutationsoccurfrequentlyduringnormalcellgrowth.However,cellscontainamechanismthatrecognizeswhenamistakeoccursandrepairsthemistake.Occasionally,amistakeismissed.Thiscouldcauseacelltobecomecancerous. Howdogenemutationsinteractwitheachother?Thegenemutationsyou'rebornwithandthosethatyouacquirethroughoutyourlifeworktogethertocausecancer. Forinstance,ifyou'veinheritedageneticmutationthatpredisposesyoutocancer,thatdoesn'tmeanyou'recertaintogetcancer.Instead,youmayneedoneormoreothergenemutationstocausecancer.Yourinheritedgenemutationcouldmakeyoumorelikelythanotherpeopletodevelopcancerwhenexposedtoacertaincancer-causingsubstance. It'snotclearjusthowmanymutationsmustaccumulateforcancertoform.It'slikelythatthisvariesamongcancertypes.MoreInformationCancercareatMayoClinicMythsaboutcancercauses RiskfactorsWhiledoctorshaveanideaofwhatmayincreaseyourriskofcancer,themajorityofcancersoccurinpeoplewhodon'thaveanyknownriskfactors.Factorsknowntoincreaseyourriskofcancerinclude: YourageCancercantakedecadestodevelop.That'swhymostpeoplediagnosedwithcancerare65orolder.Whileit'smorecommoninolderadults,cancerisn'texclusivelyanadultdisease—cancercanbediagnosedatanyage. YourhabitsCertainlifestylechoicesareknowntoincreaseyourriskofcancer.Smoking,drinkingmorethanonedrinkadayforwomenanduptotwodrinksadayformen,excessiveexposuretothesunorfrequentblisteringsunburns,beingobese,andhavingunsafesexcancontributetocancer. Youcanchangethesehabitstoloweryourriskofcancer—thoughsomehabitsareeasiertochangethanothers. YourfamilyhistoryOnlyasmallportionofcancersareduetoaninheritedcondition.Ifcanceriscommoninyourfamily,it'spossiblethatmutationsarebeingpassedfromonegenerationtothenext.Youmightbeacandidateforgenetictestingtoseewhetheryouhaveinheritedmutationsthatmightincreaseyourriskofcertaincancers.Keepinmindthathavinganinheritedgeneticmutationdoesn'tnecessarilymeanyou'llgetcancer. YourhealthconditionsSomechronichealthconditions,suchasulcerativecolitis,canmarkedlyincreaseyourriskofdevelopingcertaincancers.Talktoyourdoctoraboutyourrisk. YourenvironmentTheenvironmentaroundyoumaycontainharmfulchemicalsthatcanincreaseyourriskofcancer.Evenifyoudon'tsmoke,youmightinhalesecondhandsmokeifyougowherepeoplearesmokingorifyoulivewithsomeonewhosmokes.Chemicalsinyourhomeorworkplace,suchasasbestosandbenzene,alsoareassociatedwithanincreasedriskofcancer. ComplicationsCanceranditstreatmentcancauseseveralcomplications,including: Pain.Paincanbecausedbycancerorbycancertreatment,thoughnotallcancerispainful.Medicationsandotherapproachescaneffectivelytreatcancer-relatedpain. Fatigue.Fatigueinpeoplewithcancerhasmanycauses,butitcanoftenbemanaged.Fatigueassociatedwithchemotherapyorradiationtherapytreatmentsiscommon,butit'susuallytemporary. Difficultybreathing.Cancerorcancertreatmentmaycauseafeelingofbeingshortofbreath.Treatmentsmaybringrelief. Nausea.Certaincancersandcancertreatmentscancausenausea.Yourdoctorcansometimespredictifyourtreatmentislikelytocausenausea.Medicationsandothertreatmentsmayhelpyoupreventordecreasenausea. Diarrheaorconstipation.Cancerandcancertreatmentcanaffectyourbowelsandcausediarrheaorconstipation. Weightloss.Cancerandcancertreatmentmaycauseweightloss.Cancerstealsfoodfromnormalcellsanddeprivesthemofnutrients.Thisisoftennotaffectedbyhowmanycaloriesorwhatkindoffoodiseaten;it'sdifficulttotreat.Inmostcases,usingartificialnutritionthroughtubesintothestomachorveindoesnothelpchangetheweightloss. Chemicalchangesinyourbody.Cancercanupsetthenormalchemicalbalanceinyourbodyandincreaseyourriskofseriouscomplications.Signsandsymptomsofchemicalimbalancesmightincludeexcessivethirst,frequenturination,constipationandconfusion. Brainandnervoussystemproblems.Cancercanpressonnearbynervesandcausepainandlossoffunctionofonepartofyourbody.Cancerthatinvolvesthebraincancauseheadachesandstroke-likesignsandsymptoms,suchasweaknessononesideofyourbody. Unusualimmunesystemreactionstocancer.Insomecasesthebody'simmunesystemmayreacttothepresenceofcancerbyattackinghealthycells.Calledparaneoplasticsyndromes,theseveryrarereactionscanleadtoavarietyofsignsandsymptoms,suchasdifficultywalkingandseizures. Cancerthatspreads.Ascanceradvances,itmayspread(metastasize)tootherpartsofthebody.Wherecancerspreadsdependsonthetypeofcancer. Cancerthatreturns.Cancersurvivorshaveariskofcancerrecurrence.Somecancersaremorelikelytorecurthanothers.Askyourdoctoraboutwhatyoucandotoreduceyourriskofcancerrecurrence.Yourdoctormaydeviseafollow-upcareplanforyouaftertreatment.Thisplanmayincludeperiodicscansandexamsinthemonthsandyearsafteryourtreatment,tolookforcancerrecurrence. PreventionDoctorshaveidentifiedseveralwaystoreduceyourriskofcancer,suchas: Stopsmoking.Ifyousmoke,quit.Ifyoudon'tsmoke,don'tstart.Smokingislinkedtoseveraltypesofcancer—notjustlungcancer.Stoppingnowwillreduceyourriskofcancerinthefuture. Avoidexcessivesunexposure.Harmfulultraviolet(UV)raysfromthesuncanincreaseyourriskofskincancer.Limityoursunexposurebystayingintheshade,wearingprotectiveclothingorapplyingsunscreen. Eatahealthydiet.Chooseadietrichinfruitsandvegetables.Selectwholegrainsandleanproteins.Limityourintakeofprocessedmeats. Exercisemostdaysoftheweek.Regularexerciseislinkedtoalowerriskofcancer.Aimforatleast30minutesofexercisemostdaysoftheweek.Ifyouhaven'tbeenexercisingregularly,startoutslowlyandworkyourwayupto30minutesorlonger. Maintainahealthyweight.Beingoverweightorobesemayincreaseyourriskofcancer.Worktoachieveandmaintainahealthyweightthroughacombinationofahealthydietandregularexercise. Drinkalcoholinmoderation,ifyouchoosetodrink.Ifyouchoosetodrinkalcohol,dosoinmoderation.Forhealthyadults,thatmeansuptoonedrinkadayforwomenanduptotwodrinksadayformen. Schedulecancerscreeningexams.Talktoyourdoctoraboutwhattypesofcancerscreeningexamsarebestforyoubasedonyourriskfactors. Askyourdoctoraboutimmunizations.Certainvirusesincreaseyourriskofcancer.Immunizationsmayhelppreventthoseviruses,includinghepatitisB,whichincreasestheriskoflivercancer,andhumanpapillomavirus(HPV),whichincreasestheriskofcervicalcancerandothercancers.Askyourdoctorwhetherimmunizationagainstthesevirusesisappropriateforyou. ByMayoClinicStaff CancercareatMayoClinic RequestanAppointmentatMayoClinic Diagnosis&treatment April27,2021 Print Shareon:FacebookTwitter Showreferences Cancer.WorldHealthOrganization.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer.AccessedFeb.16,2021. Cancerstatfacts:Cancerofanysite.NationalCancerInstituteSurveillance,Epidemiology,andEndResultsProgram.https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html.AccessedFeb.16,2021. Symptomsofcancer.NationalCancerInstitute.https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/symptoms.AccessedFeb.16,2021. 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Howcancerspreads Image-guidedneedlebiopsy Infographic:CancerClinicalTrialsOfferManyBenefits Lowbloodcounts Monoclonalantibodydrugs MortCrimandCancer Mouthsorescausedbycancertreatment:Howtocope Mythsaboutcancercauses Noappetite?Howtogetnutritionduringcancertreatment PICClineplacement Relativerisk Self-ImageDuringCancer Smallcell,largecellcancer:Whatthismeans Thalidomide:Researchadvancesincancerandotherconditions Tumorvs.cyst:What'sthedifference? Whatdoescancerlooklike? Whencancerreturns:Howtocopewithcancerrecurrence Yoursecretweaponduringcancertreatment?Exercise! 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