Screening colonoscopy can visualize precancerous polyps that occupy the colon and doctors can remove them before they advance to cancer. This is why people with colon cancer experience changes in bowel performance. When tumors invading the colon wall grow and expand, it can block off the thoroughfare that carries solid waste away. Pain in the abdomen can be caused by a number of illnesses including colon cancer, defined by tumors of the large intestines. The Lung Cancer Tipoff: Pain in the chest, chronic cough, coughing up of blood, shortness of breath, wheezing, hoarseness and weight loss can be a sign of lung cancer. Although smoking greatly increases the risk, lung cancer can also occur in people who have never smoked, particularly women. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. The cancer can also infiltrate the breathing tubes to cause wheezing. Tumors located in lungs make breathing difficult and painful. Compromise their capacity and subtleness, the whole body suffers the effects. They take in oxygen-rich air essential for all processes in the body and releases carbon dioxide, the waste product produced by hard-working cells. The 2 lungs sitting on either side of the heart are flexible air sacs that expand and contract tirelessly with each breath.

Here are 5 pains that should never be ignored. But pain is noteworthy, whether it is slight or strong. Not all cancers cause pain, and the absence of pain doesn't rule out cancer. So if a tumor is hemmed in the brain, pain might be experienced sooner than tumors in the belly, where it has more space to grow and spread. The quality and quantity of cancer pain also depends on how much room there is for the tumor to expand. The pain can occur as soon as the tumor begins growing, or long after treatments end. Some messages take no time at all to arrive at pain centers in the brain, such as ones that cause you to flinch suddenly, while others throb and gnaw at a slower pace.Ĭancer pain can correspond directly to the spot where the tumor is located, or a distance from the original source. The characteristics of cancer pain - whether it is dull, sharp, aching or burning - depend on the nerve pathway that is stimulated and how fast the signals are transmitted. Nearby nerves are stimulated and a flow of information travels along nerve pathways up to the brain where pain is perceived. When a tumor is growing it can compress, irritate, block or destroy any tissue, tubes, ducts or blood vessels in the vicinity. There are pain sensors practically everywhere in the body - in skin, muscles, bones and soft tissue. Knowing what to pay attention to can convince you to go to the doctor sooner, when early diagnosis and treatment can do the most good.

In particular, pain that lasts for more than two weeks, or intensifies over time, can signal something sinister is at work, such as cancer. Whatever the reason for pain, it should never be neglected because it speaks volumes. But pain can also linger on for months and years causing great suffering and disability, especially at the end of life. If you pull a muscle for instance, the body will remain guarded until the pain lessens.

Or it can be an important diagnostic tool, a signal that an illness is underway. Pain can protect against injury by warning people to approach a hot burner, sharp knife or a steep step with caution. It can be a precautionary friend or a debilitating foe. Doctors have a love-hate relationship with pain.

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