Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Don't ignore cancer symptoms

Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Dec, 2014 10:36 AM
    Perhaps driven by fear, people often prefer to dismissing potential warning signs of cancer, thereby putting their lives at risk, says a study.
     
    In the study involving 1,700 people, more than half (53 percent) said they had experienced at least one red-flag cancer 'alarm' symptom during the previous three months, but only two percent of them thought that cancer was a possible cause, the findings showed.
     
    The results showed that people rarely attributed potential signs of cancer to the disease, putting them down to other reasons instead, such as age, infection, arthritis, piles and cysts.
     
    "Most people with potential warning symptoms don't have cancer, but some will and others may have other diseases that would benefit from early attention,” said lead study author Katriina Whitaker, senior research fellow at University College London.
     
    “That is why it is important that these symptoms are checked out, especially if they do not go away. But people could delay seeing a doctor if they do not acknowledge cancer as a possible cause,” Whitaker added.
     
    The researchers found that even the more obvious warning symptoms, such as unexplained lumps or changes to the appearance of a mole, were rarely attributed to cancer, although they are often well recognised in surveys that assess the public's knowledge of the disease.
     
    "Most cancers are picked up through people going to their doctors about symptoms. This study indicates that opportunities for early diagnosis are being missed,” said Sara Hiom, director of early diagnosis at Cancer Research UK.
     
    The findings appeared in the journal PLOS ONE.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Not all mosquitoes can transmit malaria

    Not all mosquitoes can transmit malaria
    A genetic study has revealed that certain species of mosquitoes have evolved to better transmit malaria than even some of their close cousins....

    Not all mosquitoes can transmit malaria

    Mechanism linked to stroke damage identified

    Mechanism linked to stroke damage identified
    Researchers have discovered the mechanism linked to stroke damage and brain function, thus paving the way to develop a new drug target to block brain damage....

    Mechanism linked to stroke damage identified

    Ebola virus detected in semen three months after symptoms end

    Ebola virus detected in semen three months after symptoms end
    The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Friday that the semen of men recovering from Ebola can contain the deadly virus up to three months after the symptoms disappear...

    Ebola virus detected in semen three months after symptoms end

    Gateway to human memory in brain identified

    Gateway to human memory in brain identified
    An international team has successfully determined with a level of precision never achieved before the location in the brain where memories are generated....

    Gateway to human memory in brain identified

    Bitter wild fruits can help treat cancer

    Bitter wild fruits can help treat cancer
    The compounds that give bitter flavour to wild cucurbits - cucumber, pumpkin, melon, watermelon and squash - have the potential to treat cancer and...

    Bitter wild fruits can help treat cancer

    Why autistic people see faces differently

    Why autistic people see faces differently
    People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) gain different perceptions from peoples' faces as the way they gather information - not the judgement process itself ...

    Why autistic people see faces differently