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Health Awareness – Cancer
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Health awareness means being aware of how your body looks and feels and what is
normal for you and to notice any changes.
This fact sheet is a guide to some signs and symptoms to look out for.
Any changes or symptoms you find rarely mean you have cancer. In fact they are nearly
always caused by something much less serious and some will just disappear.
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But if changes or symptoms last more than 2 weeks and do not get better, please
see your GP as soon as possible for a check up.
Don’t wait to feel the pain as early cancer usually does not cause pain.
Early detection and prompt treatment are directly responsible for a higher survival
rate.
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Your risk of cancer is increased if you have the following:
- A family history of cancer.
- Are using or have used tobacco products, such as cigarettes or shisha.
- A regular consumption of alcohol.
- A high-fat diet for most of your life.
- High exposure to radiation such as x-rays and ultraviolet rays from high exposure
to the sun. The use of tanning beds or sun lamps. Ultraviolet rays from a tanning
bed may actually be more harmful than the sun because they are more intense.
- Being exposed to chemicals through your work such as, metals or pesticides. E.g.
asbestos, nickel, cadmium, uranium, benzene.
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Signs to Look Out For
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A sore that does not heal anywhere in your body or mouth: Look
out for persistent sore in the mouth especially if you are smoking, chewing tobacco
or frequently drinking alcohol. Also look out for any spots or lumps that remain
for a long time, any cracks, ulcer or lump on the lips or inside the mouth that
does not heal or persistent white or red patches inside the mouth.
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Nagging Cough or Hoarseness: Look out for severe pain when you
cough or have any blood in your phlegm.
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Indigestion or difficulty swallowing: Look out for difficulty and
pain in swallowing solids and liquids.
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Obvious change in a wart or mole: Look out for new moles, which
are a raised growth on the surface of the screen or other organs, and any changes
to a mole, e.g. swelling, colour, increase in size, itchiness, bleeding.
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Thickening of an unusual lump or swelling anywhere on your body:
Look out for lumps in the breast, testicles and lymph nodes (glands) such as round,
dimpling, thickening, swelling, discharge or any abnormal change in shape or colour.
Most lumps are non-cancerous tumours such as cycts.
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Unusual Bleeding or discharge: Look out for blood in the sputum
(phlegm), blood in the stool (dark or black stool), blood in urine or a bloody discharge
from the nipple.
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Change in Bowel or Bladder habits: Look out for chronic constipation,
diarrhoea, change in size of stool, pain in urination, blood in the urine or change
in bladder function.
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Fever or Night Sweats: Monitor temperature if it is over 38 degrees
Celsius and you are feeling flushed and have low resistance to such infections such
as frequent colds/flu.
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Headaches: Look out for a severe unrelenting headache including
vomiting that feels different from usual and fails to improve from over-the-counter
medicines.
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Unexplained Weight Loss: Monitor (unintentional) weight loss of
about 10 pounds.
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Skin Changes: Look out for visible skin changes such as darkening,
yellowing, reddening or itching.
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Fatigue: Look out for constant tiredness and fatigue.
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Pain: Look out for severe pain in bones, or parts of your body.
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Cancer Facts
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- More people in this country survive cancer now than ever before, due to early detection
and better treatments.
- Knowing what to look out for gives you better chance of finding the cancer early.
- It is important to know your body so that you notice any changes and see your GP
if the changes last for more than 2 weeks.
- 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives.
- Most cancers occur in people over 60, but not all. A few cancers such as cancer
of the testicles mainly affect men under 35. Cancer can also occur in young people
under 14.
- There are over 200 different types of cancer that may cause many different symptoms.
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Advice
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- Don’t smoke.
- Drink sensibly. Don’t drink too much alcohol.
- Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and high-fibre foods.
- Be active. Avoid getting overweight.
- Protect yourself in the sun. Don’t burn.
- Take care with chemicals. Follow health and safety instructions.
- Check yourself out. Be aware of any changes to your body.
- Get checked regularly.
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For more advice, information and support contact:
NHS Direct: 0845 46 47 (24 hrs)
www.nhsdirect.co.uk
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The Afiya Trust is a national charity. Its mission is to “reduce
inequalities in health and social care for racialised groups”.
Projects include the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Careers Network, Black and
Minority Ethnic (BME) Mental Health, Cancer Information Provision. The organisation
is actively involved in partnerships with government bodies, health and social care
services and the voluntary sector.
Cancer Equality works with Black and Minority Ethnic communities
to produce cancer information to raise awareness of cancer and how people can reduce
their risk of cancer. The organisation works in partnership with organisations that
provide and develop cancer services to highlight the needs of Black and Minority
Ethnic communities.
This factsheet was originally created for the Afiya Trust with support from the
Department of Health.
The Afiya Trust, BME Cancer Awareness, 27-29 Vauxhall Grove, London SW8 1SY
Tel: 020 7582 0400, Fax: 020 7582 2552, www.afiya-trust.org
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