Weight loss is common among people with cancer. It may be the first visible sign of the disease. In fact, 40% of people say they had unexplained weight loss when they were first diagnosed with cancer.
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.
Many people with cancer feel sad. They feel a sense of loss of their health, and the life they had before they learned they had the disease. Even when you're done with treatment, you may still feel sad. This is a common response to any serious illness.
Many patients with stage 1 cancer live for years as long as the cancer is treated and managed. A few factors to keep in mind: Many treatments are available to help fight cancer. The body's response to treatment may differ from other patients' experience.
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. For example, people undergoing chemotherapy often receive regular CBCs.
Summary. 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.
Weight gain is also common and may be unexpected. However, it can happen before, during and after cancer treatment. Some tumours can cause an increase in weight, perhaps because of their size, and fluid retention or constipation. For other people, it is the treatment which can trigger weight gain.
How much weight loss is a concern. Your body weight can regularly fluctuate. But the persistent, unintentional loss of more than 5 per cent of your weight over 6 to 12 months is usually a cause for concern. Losing this much weight can be a sign of malnutrition.
If you're losing weight without trying and you're concerned about it, consult your health care provider. As a rule of thumb, losing more than 5% of your weight over 6 to 12 months may indicate a problem.
Weight loss is common among people with cancer. It may be the first visible sign of the disease. In fact, 40% of people say they had unexplained weight loss when they were first diagnosed with cancer.
Diagnostic procedures for cancer may include imaging, laboratory tests (including tests for tumor markers), tumor biopsy, endoscopic examination, surgery, or genetic testing.
Most cancer patients lose weight during treatment, though certain therapies — particularly those for hormone-driven malignancies such as breast and prostate cancers — can trigger weight gain.
Causes of unintentional weight loss
Unintentional weight loss has many different causes. It might be caused by a stressful event like a divorce, losing a job, or the death of a loved one. It can also be caused by malnutrition, a health condition or a combination of things.
How Commonly Does Cancer Cause Hunger? In general, cancer tends to suppress your appetite and make you feel less hungry. Often this is accompanied by rapid weight loss. But certain tumors, such as glucagonomas (a type of tumor in the pancreas) can raise blood sugar levels and cause hunger.
If some health condition tends to come and go every now and then, it's unlikely to be cancer. Cancer tends to show a constant set of symptoms that worsen over time, with a couple of new symptoms added over time.
Sometimes, a cancer diagnosis comes out of the blue, with no symptoms at all. But more often, there are various symptoms that may be warning signs of the disease.
A CBC can detect blood cancers like leukemia, Hodgkin lymphomaNon-Hodgkin lymphomaand multiple myeloma. However, it cannot give you a definitive answer as to whether you have other types of cancer, though results may provide clues that bear investigation.
A high WBC count may result from an infection or leukemia. A person is at an increased risk of infection if his/her WBC count drops below 1,000 cells per microliter.
Q: Can stage 1 cancer be cured? A: yes, stage 1 cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer; however, often, it doesn't require immediate treatment.
In fact, the majority of stage 0 breast cancers are found by accident, such as during a routine mammogram or screening. “Stage 0 breast cancer is not a reason to hit the panic button, but it is a diagnosis that is serious enough to warrant concern,” says Eugene Ahn, MD, Medical Oncologist at City of Hope Chicago.