Listening closely to your body can provide you with some helpful hints on spotting diseases, like cancer, that you might otherwise overlook.

Early detection is extremely important when it comes to cancer progression, so if you notice any of these early warning signs of cancer check-in with your doctor to see if more tests are required!

Early Cancer Warning Signs to Look For

Indirect Symptoms

1. Wheezing/shortness of breath

Lung cancer patients remember noticing this as one of their first symptoms but didn’t initially connect it to cancer.

2. Frequent fevers or infections

Frequently a sign of leukemia, a cancer of the blood cells that starts in bone marrow. It causes the marrow to produce abnormal white blood cells that hinder your body’s infection-fighting abilities.

3. Difficulty swallowing

Most commonly associated with throat cancer, but can be a good indicator of lung cancer too.

4. Weakness and fatigue

Such a common symptom of cancer that it should be looked at in combination with other symptoms to determine which it is.

5. Feeling full and unable to eat

This is a sign of ovarian cancer. A loss of appetite even when you haven’t eaten for a while is a tip-off.

6. Anorexia

Could be an early sign of pancreatic cancer. A sudden disgust for coffee, wine or smoking can be linked to this as well.

Visible Bodily Changes

7. Rectal bleeding or blood in the stool

A common sign of colorectal cancer. Blood in the toilet should be a big enough sign to see a doctor immediately.

8. Lumps in the neck, underarm or groin area

Swollen lymph nodes indicate changes in the lymphatic system which can lead to cancer.

9. Excessive bruising or bleeding that doesn’t stop

Suggests abnormalities with the platelets and red blood cells, which can be a sign of leukemia. Leukemia cells crowd out red blood cells impairing your blood’s ability to carry oxygen leading to clots.

10. Bloating or abdominal weight gain

Ovarian cancer patients reported unexplained bloating that came on suddenly and continued for a significant amount of time.

11. Unexplained weight loss

An early sign of colon and other digestive cancers. Also a sign of cancer that has spread to the liver, affecting your appetite and the body’s ability to get rid of waste.

12. A red, sore, or swollen bre*ast

Indicates inflammatory bre*ast cancer, unexplained changes should be told to a doctor immediately. A nip*ple that appears flattened, inverted or turned sideways had also been noticed by patients diagnosed with bre*ast cancer.