BREAST CANCER

A lump in the breast or armpit

Skin changes on breast: redness, thickening, rash, scaliness or dimpling

Nipple changes: nipple turning inward; a nipple discharge other than breast milk

CERVICAL CANCER

Foul-smelling vaginal discharge

Irregular vaginal bleeding

Lower abdominal Pain

LIVER CANCER

Pain in the right upper abdomen

Mass in the right upper abdomen and/or general abdominal swelling

Yellowness of the eye & skin (jaundice)

PROSTATE CANCER

Difficult, painful, frequent or bloody urination

Difficulty in having an erection / impotence

Pain: pain or stiffness in lower back or hips

COLON AND RECTAL CANCER

Blood stool or black stools

Constipation or alternating constipation/diarrhoea

Very thin stool (“pencil stools”)   

STOMACH CANCER

Pain in upper tummy when hungry or after eating

Dyspepsia (heartburn, indigestion)

Vomiting, with or without blood

LUNG CANCER

Coughing that doesn’t go away / coughing up blood

Chest pain

Shortness of breath with or without noisy breathing

BLADDER CANCER

Blood in the urine

Cannot hold urine

Lower tummy pain  

OVARIAN CANCER

Increased abdominal size/clothes that fit tighter around your waist

Persistent pain/discomfort in the lower abdomen

Feeling full quickly during or after a meal/ abdominal bloating

TESTICULAR CANCER

Mass in the testia

Pain in the testes

Swelling of the scrotum

SKIN CANCER /ORAL CANCER

A skin ulcer or wound that never heals

A ‘birth mark’ on the skin getting bigger or painful

Any new dark spot on the skin

NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA

Painless small lumps under the skin at the armpit, groin, collar bone or the sides of the neck

Night fever & sweating

Extreme tiredness & unexplained weight loss

CAUTION:

If you notice any of these, do not panic because most times they are not related to cancer. However, you must report promptly to your doctor or the NCPP Centre at 31 Bode Thomas Street, Surulere, Lagos, so that you can be examined.

 

An early diagnosis is key to surviving cancer.

One Thought to “THE CANCER TRIAD: THREE CARDINAL SYMPTOMS OF THE MOST COMMON CANCERS IN NIGERIA”

  1. Sunday Andrew

    Good day
    I appreciate the capacity building effort you are making on Cancer. As You all know cancer is a killer diseases, l will be happy if your organization will register your presence in the State Ministry of Health Adamawa State, State Secretariat Complex Yola..
    You may wander why I request for your presence in the State is bacause of the lives of people that cancer is claiming ..In anticipation of your kind reply
    From Sunday Andrew

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.