Aging & Health A to Z
Cancer
Causes & Symptoms
Many types of cancer are caused by exposure to cancer-causing (carcinogenic) substances that can be avoided. Often, a change in lifestyle or habits can reduce your risk. Prevention, such as quitting smoking, is critical in reducing your risk of cancer.
Lung Cancer
Cigarette smoking, which causes 90% of lung cancers, is the most obvious example of a habit that raises cancer risk. If you stop smoking, your risk of getting cancer declines immediately. Eventually, the risk becomes nearly the same as the risk for non-smokers. A small percentage of people may develop lung cancer even if they don’t smoke, because there is a family history of the disease or for other reasons that are not yet clear.
Other Types of Cancer
Certain cancers have been associated with other risk factors that may be substances, environmental factors, or lifestyle habits, including:
- chemicals such as pesticides
- excessive consumption of alcohol
- too much sunlight (skin cancer)
- obesity
- exposure to radiation
- certain viruses (such as those associated with cervical and liver cancer).
For many cancers, the causes remain unknown.
Symptoms and Warning Signs
Cancer symptoms vary depending on the type of cancer, how large the tumor is (if there is a tumor involved), and its location in your body.
Below are symptoms that occur with many cancers:
- skin changes – darker, redder, or itchy skin, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
- extreme fatigue that doesn’t get better with rest
- fever
- pain
- loss of appetite
- unexplained weight loss
- night sweats
- abnormal bleeding, such as dark black stools or red blood in the stool.
Never ignore a symptom, especially if it has lasted for a while, or is getting worse. Get checked by a healthcare professional, just in case.
Some symptoms, like fatigue, are unlikely to be caused by cancer if it is your only symptom. But it is best to have a check-up, especially if it is worrying you, even if it seems unimportant. Whatever the causes of your symptoms, your healthcare provider will be able to help figure them out and treat them appropriately. And in the unlikely event that it is cancer, the earlier treatment begins, the better.
Updated: March 2012
Posted: March 2012