Contents
Let’s give ourselves a chance. When should I see an oncologist? We usually ignore systematic ailments. Who would care if he was coughing, being constantly tired or having frequent colds? Meanwhile, such innocent symptoms can be a signal of serious and sometimes fatal diseases. It is worth remembering this.
It is not always possible to escape cancer, but it can be detected early and fight effectively. We suffer from cancer more often nowadays, because we live longer, we are surrounded by more and more chemicals and various types of toxic substances. Sometimes the diet and lifestyle are the causes of cancer development. Skin and lung cancers take time to materialize. If a XNUMX-year-old loves to lie in the sun and has burned his skin many times, then in his XNUMXs he can expect a skin cancer. It’s the same with lung cancer.
When to see a doctor?
Whenever we notice changes in the skin or in the functioning of the body. Doctors call this oncological alertness. So you have to watch your body. Grope them, watch them. If we don’t do this systematically, we may miss the point when the developing cancer has not spread and can be dealt with. Each change in the functioning or appearance of our body should turn on a red light in our head – I need to see a doctor. Better to waste some time and hear that there is nothing to worry about than to find out that it is too late to be saved.
What changes should worry us? It is difficult to name them all, but note any unusual bleeding or discharge from the body orifices or nipples; lumps, lumps in the nipples and testes, on the skin, lip, tongue, changes in the shape, size or color of nipples or birthmarks. We should also be concerned about ulcers or wounds that do not heal, prolonged defecation and urination disorders, and long-term disorders of the digestive tract. Also hoarseness and cough that appear for no apparent reason and do not last long.
It is worth betting on research
Cancer is tricky diseases. Some develop very slowly and are asymptomatic, making them difficult to detect. However, modern technology comes in handy, but you have to use it. It is worth remembering that the prevention of neoplastic diseases consists not only in the prevention of the disease (because it is not always possible), but above all in the early detection of changes when the treatment is more effective. So what is worth remembering?
After eighteen. Young women must learn to self-examine their breasts (once a month after the end of menstruation) and visit a gynecologist once a year and have a cytology test to recognize all precancerous conditions. Those women who have started or are about to start a sex life should submit to him. Young men are at risk for testicular cancer. So, from time to time, it is worth groping the testicles, examining them, and after noticing the slightest changes that were not there before, immediately go to the doctor.
In my thirties. Women must have a Pap smear and routine gynecological examination once a year. Once a year, breast ultrasound and mammography should be performed, which is considered a good examination in the early diagnosis of breast cancer. This is especially true of women whose mothers, grandmothers or aunts suffered from this cancer. A good mammogram should not be completely reassuring. It is worth knowing that not all neoplastic changes are visible on such x-rays. Therefore, you should see a doctor with the result. The examination is not painful, although some discomfort may be felt with very sensitive breasts. Privately, it costs about PLN 100. Men should have their testicles checked regularly, at least every six months.
In my forties. Women – if they have no genetic burden – once a year or every two years should have a mammogram and an ultrasound of the breasts, which allows to determine the type of change (e.g. cyst, fibrosis) that may occur in the breast. You have to go to the gynecologist once a year and ask for a cytology. Women who may be inherited with cervical cancer must regularly (once a year) have an ultrasound of the reproductive organs. This cancer can be effectively prevented, so it is worth having a regular check-up. In Poland, about 2 die each year from this cancer. women. These deaths could be avoided. Women over 40 are at risk of ovarian cancer in the womb. There are no specialized tests to diagnose this disease. Only regular visits to the gynecologist, who will notice changes in the uterine mucosa and take a fragment of it for cytological examination, can protect against them. Ovarian cancer is asymptomatic and difficult to detect. Women who are hereditary in this respect are recommended to have an annual ultrasound examination of the reproductive organs. Sometimes, in order to protect a woman from cancer, surgical removal of the ovaries and hormone replacement therapy are proposed in the menopausal period. The gentlemen systematically check the testicles.
After fifty. Women should perform breast mammography and ultrasound, gynecological examination and cytology once a year.
Every two years (more often in case of ailments) men do a rectal examination to check if there are any changes in the prostate gland. If they appear, visit a urologist and have an ultrasound of the prostate gland and a PSA test. Simply testing the prostate antigen is not enough, as some prostate tumors develop with normal PSA levels. It is also necessary to self-examine the testicles.
After sixty. Women have to visit a gynecologist once a year, do cytology, mammography and breast ultrasound. Breast self-examination should not be neglected (once a month is enough). Men do a rectal examination every six months, and once a year they visit a urologist and test PSA markers. They still examine the testicles themselves.
Cancer prevention is important for both sexes
Regardless of gender, we should systematically examine our skin and undergo examinations that allow us to recognize neoplastic diseases, which are equally frequent in both women and men. Belong to them:
Skin cancerwhich is taking an ever more abundant harvest. Therefore, once a year, preferably in spring, it is worth going to the oncologist and asking for a thorough examination of the entire skin to see if there are any precancerous or pre-melanoma changes. If the oncologist surgeon suggests removing any skin lesions, it is safer to come for such surgery. There is nothing to be afraid of. It is not true that removing skin lesions can be harmful. Removal of each precancerous lesion gives a chance for a full recovery. The only exception to this rule is advanced stages of melanoma.
Melanoma is a malignant neoplasm of the skin that most often develops within moles. It rarely develops on healthy, smooth skin. Usually, pigmented moles, which scientists believe, are genetically programmed to turn into cancer. Lentil spots have a similar tendency – light or dark brown “patches” larger than freckles, clearly separated from healthy skin, which arise as a result of the multiplication of pigment cells (melanocytes) in the epidermis. They are favored by excessive sunlight.
90 percent melanoma is found on the skin, but the tumor can locate anywhere there are pigment cells, including the genital mucosa, mouth, larynx, esophagus, stomach, intestines, anus, and even inside the eyeball.
The doctors managed to define quite precisely the group of people who are particularly at risk of falling ill. These are:
– people with fair skin, blond or red hair and blue eyes, because their skin contains less raspberry, a pigment that gives the skin color and protects it from UV radiation,
– exposed in childhood to strong sunlight or who have suffered sunburn,
– with unhardened skin, i.e. those that spend the whole year mostly indoors, and sunbathe very intensively during holidays,
– do not use creams with appropriate filters, do not protect themselves against excessive sun exposure,
– often (5-6 times a month) using a solarium or quartz lamps,
– with multiple pigmented lesions, had previously had melanoma or had a family history of this cancer.
However, doctors are most concerned about the fact that young women over 35 suffer from melanoma more and more often.
Skin birthmarks are a separate problem. Although they do not arise after excessive sunlight, they can grow or become malignant under the influence of sunlight. Usually also in summer they are mechanically more irritated (body lubrication, sand on the beach, injuries during sports), which is conducive to neoplastic transformation.
Moles are congenital skin developmental abnormalities, although sometimes they appear later in life. They can originate from the epidermis (e.g. seborrhoeic warts), blood and lymph vessels (hemangiomas at the level of the skin or convex, usually blue-red) and finally from skin pigment cells – melanocytes (pigmented nevi). The latter are mottled or slightly convex lesions of brown color, smooth or slightly uneven (papillary) surface, sometimes hairy, which persist throughout life. In the case of mechanical irritation or sunlight, they can be the starting point for melanomas.
Signs of malignancy are:
– papillary (progressive!) Surface hypertrophy,
– the appearance of a reddish inflammatory border,
– enlargement of the mole and oozing ulcers within it.
Hairy nevi are not the starting point for melanomas and do not need to be removed with a healthy tissue margin. Their removal for cosmetic reasons is to be considered (plastic surgeon – paid!).
Colon cancer. When this cancer is suspected, a specific schedule is followed. Prophylaxis consists in performing a colonoscopy around the age of 50. The test consists of viewing the entire colon. It is worth knowing that this cancer in its early stage, when it can be treated effectively, does not cause any symptoms (eg bleeding when passing stools. Bleeding is a symptom of advanced disease). The examination takes several minutes, but it is unpleasant because the apparatus is inserted through the anus and air is blown in. In the case of adhesions in the large intestine after abdominal surgery, it can be painful, but as a rule, they are performed under anesthesia.
Stomach cancer is still a frequent cause of death. Women die more often, although the overall number of cases is falling. We owe this to keeping food in refrigerators and consuming smaller amounts of cured and smoked food. This tumor develops quite insidiously. If the stomach is teasing, and it is not due to overeating or poisoning, it is worth seeing a doctor. The only examination that can detect this type of cancer at an early stage is gastroscopy, i.e. viewing its interior with a special apparatus. This method can also diagnose precancerous conditions, detect the presence of helicobacter pyloria, which is the bacteria responsible for the development of peptic ulcer disease, as well as gastric lymphoma.
Lung cancer in the vast majority of cases it is a cancer that is directly caused by smoking. But the list of tobacco-dependent cancers is much longer. Among them are: cancer of the lip, tongue, cheek mucosa, palate, larynx, epiglottis. The only effective way to protect yourself from this disease is to quit smoking. And if someone does not want to break free from this addiction, he must do an X-ray of the lungs once a year, and if any changes in the mouth are noticed – immediately go to the oncologist. Among tobacco-dependent cancers, laryngeal cancer is the best treated cancer. It manifests itself quite quickly in the form of hoarseness and a change in the timbre of the voice.
Thyroid cancer it is quite rare. It is detected by ultrasound. Treatment consists of removing the thyroid gland and administering radioiodine.
Lymphomas are neoplastic diseases of the lymphatic system with little characteristic symptoms. Insufficient knowledge about this group of cancers and the lack of the so-called Due to oncological vigilance, this type of cancer is often confused with the common cold. The developing lymphoma is manifested only by coughing, breaking bones, general weakness, elevated temperature (38 degrees C), which is not relieved by anti-inflammatory drugs, sweating at night, loss of appetite, and therefore loss of body weight and enlarged lymph nodes ( do not hurt when touched) on the neck, armpits, above the collarbones and in the groin. Sometimes there is severe itching of the skin. If such symptoms persist for 2-3 weeks and do not improve even after antibiotic treatment, it is worthwhile to perform a chest X-ray, even at your own expense, to assess the condition of the lymph nodes in the mediastinum. Other tests that allow you to make a correct diagnosis are blood counts and ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.
Time is extremely important in the fight against lymphomas. Therefore, when the doctor in the clinic cannot determine the causes of malaise, it is better to go to the oncologist without delay so that he can find out what is happening. A diagnosis often begins with a lymph node resection and examination to determine the type of lymphoma. Further treatment depends on it. Time is running out because some types of lymphoma, if left untreated, can kill the person within a few months.
Juvenile fibroma often presents with unusual nosebleeds, usually from one or both nostrils. They are accompanied by swelling of the cheeks (or one cheeks), lacrimation, visual disturbances, headache. Juvenile fibroma (made up of a large number of blood vessels and fibrous tissue) usually affects boys between 10-14. year of life. It is treated with surgery or radiation therapy. Neoplastic changes may also appear in other areas of the nose and throat, regardless of age. Unfortunately, they are quite often malignant. So – whatever bothers you about the efficiency of your nose or throat, you feel a scratching sensation, you have the feeling that something is stuck in your nose – go to the doctor. If your doubts are not clarified by an internist, see an oncologist. You do not need a referral and you will certainly be admitted quickly.
Text: Anna Jarosz
Read also: We lack oncological vigilance
A few cups of coffee a day saves you from breast cancer? – read on Zdrowie.TvoiLokony