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

    A new smartphone that can print selfies in seconds

    A new smartphone that can print selfies in seconds
    A French company has developed a brand new smartphone case that can print selfies from the phone itself in less than a minute....

    A new smartphone that can print selfies in seconds

    Menthol and nicotine harmful for lungs: Study

    Menthol and nicotine harmful for lungs: Study
    Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have found that menthol acts in combination with nicotine to desensitise receptors in lungs' ...

    Menthol and nicotine harmful for lungs: Study

    Reduce salt intake for better kidney health

    Reduce salt intake for better kidney health
    The researchers found high sodium intake (an average of 4.7g a day) is linked with an increased risk of needing dialysis, but no benefit was seen for low sodium intake (average 2g a day)....

    Reduce salt intake for better kidney health

    Second-hand marijuana smoke may damage blood vessels

    Second-hand marijuana smoke may damage blood vessels
    Breathing second-hand marijuana smoke could damage your heart and blood vessels as much as second-hand cigarette smoke, says a new research....

    Second-hand marijuana smoke may damage blood vessels

    Asthma may significantly raise heart attack risk

    Asthma may significantly raise heart attack risk
    Asthma patients need to take extra care of their heart as researchers have found that the affliction, which requires daily medication, may raise the risk of a heart attack by 60 percent....

    Asthma may significantly raise heart attack risk

    Healthbeat: Study Of Hand Transplants Sheds Light On Brain's Role In Restoring Sense Of Touch

    Healthbeat: Study Of Hand Transplants Sheds Light On Brain's Role In Restoring Sense Of Touch
    WASHINGTON — Recovery of feeling can gradually improve for years after a hand transplant, suggests a small study that points to changes in the brain, not just the new hand, as a reason.

    Healthbeat: Study Of Hand Transplants Sheds Light On Brain's Role In Restoring Sense Of Touch