“Too many cases are asymptomatic”... What is the worst habit that fuels cancer?

Patients with stage 3 or 4 cancer often ask, “I had no symptoms... why?” They point out that they usually only notice when they feel pain, yet they experienced absolutely no symptoms. Life-threatening myocardial infarction is primarily characterized by chest pain. Prompt intervention can save lives and minimize aftereffects. However, some cancers show no distinct symptoms even when they are near the terminal stage. Because they are discovered late, cancer is the leading cause of death among diseases. Is it impossible to detect cancer even a little earlier?

 

Even if it hurts ' silence ... “ Cancer metastasis discovered late , I can't perform surgery ”

Internal organs affected by cancer remain silent, even when in pain. While myocardial infarction or stroke (cerebral infarction or cerebral hemorrhage) manifest as chest pain (heart disease) or headaches and paralysis on one side of the body (stroke) when blood flow is blocked, cancer cells slowly gnaw away at normal cells and invade other organs. According to the National Cancer Information Center, surgery is the standard treatment for cancer. However, if the disease is discovered too late, surgery cannot be performed. If the cancer metastasizes to distant organs (distant metastasis), nothing can be done. By the time a person feels symptoms, the cancer is often already quite advanced. Most cancers detected early are often discovered incidentally during health checkups.

Common cancer symptoms ... weight loss , fatigue , Why abdominal discomfort ?

According to data from Statistics Korea, the ranking of cancer mortality rates in Korea (2022) is lung cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and stomach cancer. Common symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, and abdominal discomfort. As cancer cells grow, they absorb nutrients from normal cells, leading to weight loss and fatigue. These symptoms do not appear in the early stages of cancer; they typically become noticeable only when the disease has progressed significantly. In particular, those currently trying to lose weight may mistake this for the effects of their diet. However, if you experience rapid weight loss recently, regardless of dieting, it is advisable to suspect cancer.

 

Common digestive disorders , abdominal pain ... pancreatic cancer , Liver cancer also starts with indigestion , Jaundice is quite advanced

 

Pancreatic cancer, considered difficult to detect early, often begins with common symptoms such as indigestion and fatigue. It is not easy to suspect these as signs of cancer. With the recent increase in its association with diabetes, diabetic patients should carefully monitor for common digestive issues, weight loss, fatigue, and abdominal pain. Since the pancreas secretes insulin, pancreatic cancer should be suspected if blood sugar levels suddenly become uncontrolled or if diabetes develops where there was no prior history.

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Symptoms of liver cancer include pain or a lump sensation in the upper right abdomen where the liver is located, abdominal distension, weight loss, severe fatigue, and indigestion. When pancreatic or liver cancer has progressed significantly, jaundice appears, causing the face and eyes to turn yellow. When jaundice develops, urine becomes dark brown or red, and stool color changes to white or gray.

 

I thought it was a common cough, but it was lung cancer ... colorectal cancer , Endoscopy contributes to the early detection of stomach cancer.

 

According to the National Cancer Registry Statistics (released in December 2023), 277,523 new cancer patients were diagnosed in 2021 alone. Middle-aged patients in their 50s and 60s account for about half of these cases. Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in Korea, is very difficult to diagnose because, even after it has progressed to a certain extent, there are no significant abnormalities other than a cold-like cough and phlegm. Due to the effects of air pollution, radon, and fine dust, the number of non-smoking female patients is increasing. Low-dose lung cancer CT scans are helpful for early detection.

Although colorectal and stomach cancers have a reliable early detection method called endoscopy, they have high mortality rates. As such, there are no symptoms in the early stages; by the time one experiences symptoms such as changes in bowel habits—like blood in the stool (colorectal cancer) or indigestion and heartburn (stomach cancer)—the disease has already progressed significantly. Under the national cancer screening program, individuals aged 40 and older can undergo a gastroscopy every two years, while those aged 50 and older can receive a colonoscopy if abnormalities are detected in a stool test. It is advisable to undergo regular checkups even in one's 30s if there is a family history of the disease.

 

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My family should try the low-dose closed-eye CT as well.

Lung cancer, liver cancer, silent organs

From the moment you realize it is cancer, you worry about metastasis.

They say that this kind of thing doesn't usually show up even with a health checkup.