Not all cancer patients lose a lot of weight. In fact, there are some cancers that result in weight gain during treatment. Certain types of chemotherapy, hormone therapy and medicines, such as steroids, can cause the body to retain fluids or increase a patient's appetite so that they eat more, causing weight gain.
Weight loss is not a symptom of all types of cancer. It can be caused for a variety of reasons. Sometimes weight loss is directly related to cancer, but other factors such as emotional distress and side effects of treatment can contribute to weight loss.
Some types of cancer are more likely to lead to weight loss than others. Cancers that affect the mouth or throat may make chewing or swallowing difficult. Patients with nausea, a common side effect of cancer, may have little or no appetite and may be unable to keep food down.
The majority of cancer patients lose weight at some point in the course of the disease. Weight is sometimes the sign that leads someone to get diagnosed with cancer, but it may occur at any time, such as during treatment or in the advanced stages of the disease. The patient's eating habits may change.
Slight increases in weight during cancer treatment are usually not a problem. But if you gain too much weight, it can affect your health. Weight gain is more common with some cancers and some treatments than others. For instance, more than half of people with breast cancer gain weight during their treatment.
About 60 out of 100 people with lung cancer (60%) have a loss of appetite and significant weight loss at the time of their diagnosis. In people with upper gastrointestinal cancer, this number is 80 out of 100 people (80%). Upper gastrointestinal cancers include: food pipe (oesophagus) cancer.
Between 30% and 80% of patients may lose weight at some point during their disease, depending on the site of the tumor1.
Sometimes symptoms affect specific areas of the body, such as our tummy or skin. But signs can also be more general, and include weight loss, tiredness (fatigue) or unexplained pain. Some possible signs of cancer, like a lump, are better known than others.
A complete blood count (CBC) is a common medical test that your doctor may recommend to monitor your health. In cancer care, this blood test can be used to help diagnose a cancer or monitor how cancer or its treatment is affecting your body.
Cancer tends to show a constant set of symptoms that worsen over time, with a couple of new symptoms added over time. However there are a few exceptions to this. For example, people suffering from bowel cancer tend to show diarrhoea and blood loss every now and then.
Moles that change colour, shape or size. Chest pain or a chest infection that doesn't get better. A cough that doesn't go away or difficulty swallowing. Feeling tired or weak when it is unexpected.
Years or even decades may pass before they cause noticeable symptoms. During this time, the cancer may go undetected. Cancer may also go undetected because of factors such as an individual's overall health and medical conditions that may cause symptoms similar to cancer.
So your doctor may start by asking about your personal and family medical history and doing a physical exam. They may order lab tests, imaging tests (scans), or other tests or procedures. You may also need a biopsy, which is often the only way to tell for sure if you have cancer.
Fatigue. Lump or area of thickening that can be felt under the skin. Weight changes, including unintended loss or gain. Skin changes, such as yellowing, darkening or redness of the skin, sores that won't heal, or changes to existing moles.
Aside from certain environmental factors (such as being a longtime smoker), risk level is determined based upon family history. “A person who has first- and sometimes second-degree relatives who have had cancer is considered high risk,” says Dawn Severson, M.D., a medical oncologist with Henry Ford Health.
The fatigue felt by people with cancer is different from the fatigue of daily life and different from the tired feeling people might remember having before they had cancer. People with cancer might describe it as feeling very weak, listless, drained, or “washed out” that may decrease for a while but then comes back.
When you have intense anxiety you start to lose your appetite. You begin to feel as though you're genuinely not hungry and eat much less than you need to. You may not even realize how little you're eating, but in essence, you're starving yourself, and that can cause massive weight loss very quickly.
Unexplained Weight Loss
Colorectal cancer can lead to unexplained weight loss in a variety of ways. Cancer cells use up a lot of the body's energy supply, and the immune system also uses energy as it works hard to fight the disease.
While it may seem like a rare case of lightning striking twice, it's not terribly uncommon for a person to get two primary cancers – even at the same time. Researchers estimate that about 1 in 20 people with cancer have another separate cancer at the same time.
Overweight/obesity is known to increase the risk of at least 13 different types of cancer: post-menopausal breast cancer, colorectal cancer, kidney (renal cell) cancer, endometrial cancer, thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer, multiple myeloma, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastric cardia ...
Cancer can sometimes cause swelling of the tummy (abdomen) due to a build up of fluid. The medical name for a build up of fluid in the abdomen is ascites (pronounced ay-site-eez).