Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "It's really important that people can recognise cancer symptoms and feel that they can report concerns to their GP at an early stage.
"When cancers are detected earlier, treatment is usually more effective and often milder. We're not expecting people to be able to recall every symptom, but being generally aware of changes that could be a sign of cancer could make a crucial difference for people who do develop the disease."
Some of the common symptoms of cancer include.
Unexplained weight loss
An abnormal lump or swelling anywhere on the body.
Discoloration of a mole or change in its shape or size
Change in voice
Indigestion that lasts for several weeks
A persistent sore that does not heal for several weeks
An ulcer on the tongue or mouth which does not heal for more than three weeks
A cough persisting for more than three weeks.
Difficulty in swallowing
Blood in urine or motion
Difficulty passing urine
For women, any changes in menstruation or lump in breasts
Extreme sweating during nights
Pain or ache which persists for more than a month.
Stressing the importance of early detection in cancer outcomes, Sara Hiom added: "We believe as many as 5,000 deaths could be avoided each year in the UK if cancers were diagnosed earlier. Many of the symptoms that could be cancer often turn out to be a milder ailment, but it's best to get things like unusual lumps, changes to moles, unusual bleeding or changes to bowel motions checked out by a GP."
Source: Medindia
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