Cancer, early warning signs

well a warm welcome to this talk Wednesday the 23rd of November but this will be applicable whenever you're watching because I'm afraid there's more people being diagnosed with cancer at the moment and the trends indicate that this could be increasing we're not going to talk about the causes of this but what I want to talk about on this video is how to recognize it early because I think everyone out there watching knows that if you can diagnose cancer early and get effective treatment your chances of remission and Recovery are much much greater so the information I'm going to give in the next 20 minutes is a bit lecture like I'm afraid there's a bit of information to cover but if you can stick with it it really could save your life or the life of one of your friends or families so the early warning signs of cancer what do we look out for what makes us think oh just a minute I better go and see the doctor about that let's run through that now so let's um go here cancer early warning signs is what we're looking at because we want to catch this as early as we possibly can now these notes here are actually from my book which I'll put the links there you can free make a free download of that or mostly from my book I have updated it slightly any unexplained bleeding so uh hematuria is is blood in the urine blood in the urine is always abnormal the normal amount of blood in the urine is is a zero there's not supposed to be any blood in the urine so any blood in the urine is always abnormal The Only Exception is is uh during periods when there can be blood contamination in the urine the blood that's coming from the vagina not from the urethra and what we must do then is not assume that that bleeding is caused by the menstrual period what we do is we check it again in two weeks time and if the woman is still uh positive for blood then we would investigate that of course the vast majority of times they'll become negative because uh periods can contaminate the urine but it's not assuming that that's the case blood in the urine is always abnormal Frank an occult now these are terms that we come across quite a bit Frank blood means it's obvious frankly this is blood it's obvious to anyone looking at it looks like blood smells like blood is blood occult blood is hidden blood so blood might be there in very small amounts so you could have blood in the urine and not be able to detect it without putting a dipstick in or sometimes blood can be changed so for example if someone vomits blood up it can it can be uh like coffee grounds and it can have an altered appearance so remember blood can be frank occult or changed suspect blood at any time you do suspect blood is very simple matter for nurses and doctors to test and see if it actually is blood always better to be safe than sorry in that respect so females if there's blood in the urine check again in two weeks time when you're mid-cycle so hematemesis is vomiting blood again that is abnormal now of course sometimes with severe vomiting there could be a tear for example in the lower part of this office or esophagus or the stomach which is not a cancer but as if there's if there's blood in vomit that's not normal again get it checked blood in sputum is always abnormal main causes of that globally are tuberculosis and lung cancer so blood is not supposed to be in sputum again if it's there get it checked out um Molina is blood from the in in the stools now blood in the stools is typically uh we describe it typically as being dark and tiring it depends where it came from if it's coming from the lower part near the anus and the rectum it can be frank blood uh sometimes if you get a pile for example it can be very obvious but that's pleasant when you when you clean yourself at the toilet but again we can't really assume this is from a pile there's a possibility that's from a higher up lesion but if you're bleeding from the mouth the esophagus the stomach the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract into the into the uh into the gut then it goes through the digestive system it gets partly digested and it comes out as this dark tarry sort of a stool uh characteristic smell when you get used to smelling it so dark tarry stools we call Molina it's a form of altered blood again consider the possibility that this is leaking this blood is bleeding out from some form of uh tumor most times we expect it won't be but it's worth checking out it's especially if it's persistent and happens more than once again it can be frank over cult PV per vaginal bleeding so between periods after sex it's abnormal and bleeding after the menopause is abnormal so bleeding between periods after sex postmenopausal abnormal get it checked out vaginal bleeding even if it's only a little bit of blood you're not supposed to bleed between periods you're not supposed to bleed after the menopause you're not supposed to bleed after sex so even if it's just a little bit or if it's dark or altered in color still get it checked make sure it's blood first of all as I say a very simple test to see if it's blood any nurse or doctor can do that very very readily and if it is blood take it further if it's not blood you can be reassured that it's not blood uh persistent bleeding from the nose and other possibility now of course the vast majority of bleeds from the nose are trauma the most common cause of nosebleeds of course is people picking their nose the only thing you should put in your nose is the same things you put in your ear and that's your elbow so we shouldn't be picking our noses but persistent bleeding from the nose or bleeding that's not explained from the nose again check out the possibility that it could be something abnormal it could be a premalignant polyp this is what often happens in in the colon so uh in in people over the age of 60 I think in the UK now we do annual or bi-annual checks to see if there's occult blood in in the stool just to say there's a little bit of blood there because that would be an abnormal finding very often it might be a polyp but polyps can become malignant so worth checking them out at an early stage it's all about checking out at an early stage bruising of course is just bleeding into the tissue so all the bruising is bleeding from the capillaries in the small blood vessels that's all it is and you get this bruise it goes uh it's dark to begin with uh kind of black and blue and then it goes a bit yellow as it starts to clear as the blood is broken down but again remember bruising is just a form of bleeding now discharges your discharges uh when we're talking about discharges we're normally talking about um pus and [ __ ] things like that well it could be a serious discharge it could be a clearer discharge now discharge is normally mean infection but the thing about malignancy if there's a tumor growing somewhere whether it's a breast duct or in a respiratory passage it Alters the architecture of that structure and it can't clear its mucus and clear itself as it normally would so infections become more likely infections are associated sometimes with discharge so the discharges is usually an infection and of course most discharges are caused by infection a urethral discharge for example could be a sign of a sexually transmitted disease but occasionally the discharge can be an infection which is caused by a distortion of the normal architecture of the tissue which would be a possible malignant Zone so certainly want to check out indicate infection but tumors distort and block normal Anatomy that's the key point so repeated chest infections chronic cough long-term cough should be checked out pus from the urethra should also be checked out although normally it would be an infection and puss from the nipple now this nearly uh most commonly of course this occurs in women but it can also occur in men they can still be bleeding from the nipple in or discharge from the nipple in men and again it's an abnormal finding and of course we mentioned the vagina changes in bowel habits or bowel activity is another classic feature changes in defecation that's just pooing um frequency consistency of the the feces constipation diarrhea for example the shape if the stool is a different shape the color of this mucus associated with the shape all of those can be abnormal again normally of course not caused by cancers but doctors can check this out really quite uh simply without too much difficulty color dark or pale now obviously if the stool is dark that can be Molina that can be blood but if stools become a very light color a clay type color that can mean the biles not getting into them because it's the bile that colors and deodorizes the feces and if the pancreas is the tumor growing in the pancreas that can block the bile ducts many other causes of course but pale stools are always worth getting checked out and again a few simple blood tests can normally give you the diagnosis these things aren't difficult for doctors and nurse practitioners and people like that to check out uh floaty stools could mean there's a lot of fat in them and again that could mean that the pancreatic digestive enzymes are not getting through to digest the fat so floaty stools are abnormal stores that are difficult to flush away could be fatty um the the steaturia the fat in the stools is a possibility dark urine can mean that the bile's not getting into the gut and can go and it's go into the urine so dark urine again can be a cause a symptom of pancreatic cancer abnormal bloating or swelling of the abdomen again it's not normal that should be checked persistent heartburn or indigestion now some people get heartburn and indigestion for years I mean I have to I have to take a lanzoprazole tablets myself sometimes just for a bit of esophageal regurgitation but if it's new or it's changing it can be it can be um it could be a cancer in the esophagus or in the um in the in the top the top of the stomach the fundus of the the stomach will be the most likely many other pathologies and things that can cause it of course but that is one to check out persistent bloating anorexia just means loss of appetite if you've lost your appetite and you can't explain it you know a lot of these things are just has it changed for you is this different for you is this not your normal because you know your body better than anyone else and if it's not normal for you think do I need to get this checked and we can't emphasize enough that you can be reassured in the vast majority of occasions with just a few very simple checks that nurses and doctors do absolutely routinely the vast majority of times you can be simply reassured but the odd time that there's something more suspicious your care can be escalated to a a diagnostic procedure or test if that is required changes in bladder emptying habits this stands for lower urinary tract symptoms um so um if you want to know what lower urinary tract symptoms are ask any man probably over the age of 60 or 17 he'll tell you about it because it comes from a large prostate but it can be a malignant conditions as well so it's things like frequency of urination difficulty initiating your new urination desire to urinate frequently not urinating with a full stream just dribbling a bit um these are lower urinary tract symptoms and again should be uh diagnosed and very often that can be done with very simple tests again sophisticated tests aren't usually needed thickness in a tissue or a lump now of course when people talk about cancers they very often think about lumps and it's an obvious feature of of a possible cancer again it has to be stressed that most lumps are not cancer there's many what we will call benign causes of lumps and and most times it will be that but the odd time it will be a cancer typically cancerous lumps feel hard typically they're well fixed in the tissue they're hard to move between finger and thumb typically benign lumps or benign tumors can be moved between finger and thumb like assist and typically they're not as hard as malignant tumors but that's not for you to decide if there's a lump get someone to feel it who does this day in day out and can tell the difference by palpation or necessary can arrange a biopsy to have that properly diagnosed again very simple things that can be life-saving so breast testicular cancers of course could present in this way very often with testicular cancer the first symptom is not that you feel a pain but what one testes becomes heavier than the other best time to examine the testes of course is after a hot bath and if one is descending more than the other again possible abnormality get it checked out testicular cancer is most common in young men late 20s early 30s by the time you get to my age it's less likely to occur it's a disease mostly of young men and there are excellent treatments available for testicular cancer as long as it's caught at an early enough stage breast palpation breast awareness of course this is this is fairly widely known self-breast examination breast awareness swollen lymph nodes lymph nodes can be in different places um under the under the armpits for example in the groin at the top of the legs and under the um under the mandible in the neck um if these are swollen again it's not normal if a lymph node is swollen and painful very often that's infection but again it's not really for you to decide this is what we have doctors for get them to diagnose that properly so you can get a more definitive or a fully definitive diagnosis don't guess this is why we have doctors just go and see one I know it's not easy at the moment but um it is what you need to try and do nagging hoarseness or hoarsness or cough so a cough that goes on for a long period of time or a horse voice that goes on for a long period of time now of course these These are completely normal every time every time we have a cough a a cold or infection you're going to get a cough perfectly normal but normally goes away again after a relatively short period of time covert's a bit of an exception it can grow on for a long time but again get it checked out don't make the diagnosis yourself a horse voice again very often simply infection but it can be laryngeal cancers for example or even cancer in the thyroid because you have nerves that go to the voice box of the recurrent laryngeal nerve goes goes to the uh near or through the thyroid to the to the voice box and again pressure in there can alter the voice so again that is an abnormal finding one that's worth checking out with your with your healthcare provider so again this can be a feature of lung laryngeal or thyroid cancers a sort of wound which doesn't heal something called malignant ulceration there can be a cancer which is it looks like a wound but in Natural Factors to cancer lesion getting bigger so most wounds of course are supposed to get smaller a lesion just means anything that's abnormal so if that's getting bigger get it checked out wounds are supposed to get smaller they're not supposed to get bigger if it's getting bigger that could be a cancer that is spreading again most times it won't be but but get it checked out don't make the diagnosis yourself increasing pain from a wound or unexpected bleeding from a wound also another possibility unexpected bleeding from anywhere as we've already stressed is a possible feature of a malignancy um basal cell carcinoma what we call rodent ulcers non-melanoma skin cancers these are all fairly obvious on the surface of the skin but again don't assume it's something relatively benign get it checked out a new mole or changes to a mole are classic um so if you have a mole where you didn't have a mole before or moles got bigger or it's changed in color or it's changed in shape or it's a bit higher than it used to be or it's a bit lower than it used to be if it's changed get it checked out dermatologists can normally recognize these by sight and if they're unsure they'll just go get a biopsy and diagnose it through the microscope because the histopathologists can tell by looking through the microscope with definitive accuracy whether it's a normal cell or whether it's a malignant cell they can do that quite definitively with a simple scraping or a simple biopsy in most cases again mouth or tongue also that lasts for more than three weeks again get that checked out go to your dentist that's what they're trained to do obvious changes in the water and mole now um this is quite useful um has it become asymmetric um is it different on both sides have the borders become irregular has the color changed especially as it got darker but not necessarily so is that is there changes in pigmentation is there variable pigmentation over the mole is it greater than six millimeters in diameter or is it increasing in size a b c d e and e is for elevation is there bits that are higher and bits that are lower in it if so that can be a malignant melanoma now melanomas usually caused by sunburn but the thing with melanomas is they metastasize very quickly now metastases is meta meta to change stasis place so metastasis is when a malignant tumor spreads from the primary site where originated to other parts of the body and once it's in other parts of the body it becomes remarkably difficult to treat and the thing about malignant melanoma is it can look like a relatively small lesion but of already metastasized so we need to catch these very very early as soon as there is a change get that checked out skin awareness especially if you live in Australia or somewhere like that where it's more common malignant melanoma May demonstrate a b c d and e ingestion difficulties or swallowing difficulties feeling of pressure in the throat or chest again lung cancer esophageal cancers can do this difficulty in swallowing that's dysphagia that can be cancer in the esophagus or fundus of the stomach or other structures in the neck or indeed potentially diaphragm night sweats or fever if you are getting wet overnight because you're sweating that's not normal get that checked out that can be a symptom of various malignancies it's often what we call a perineal plastic effect it's what goes alongside a cancer but but certainly of course it probably will be infection or menopause or other things like that but don't you make the diagnosis yourself that's the point this is a possible feature of malignancy undue fatigue if you're tired all the time again many possible causes um I I can go for days where I just feel absolutely exhausted all the time I'm sure there's you're the same obvious thing to do is get your thyroid checked but again just just bear in mind malignancy can be a possibility again doctors can do some pretty simple blood tests to reassure you that this is not the case and then the rare examples where it is the case they can usually treat you or organize treatment by specialists um well hopefully as quickly as possible but again we know it's difficult at the moment unexplained weight loss if you're on a diet you would lose weight unexplained weight loss could be something like a developing diabetes or an explained weight loss could be cancer because cancer increases the metabolism that's why people lose weight with cancer and get this cachexia this extreme weight loss that can occur with cancer so any um any unexplained weight loss get that checked unexplained eggs or pains especially if they're persistent and this is a general principle if something's going on for a long time if it's not getting better normally when we get sick when something goes wrong the body heals itself if it's not healing itself then there's a possibility of an ongoing disease process uh that's not healing itself and cancer is one of those so these unexplained aches pains and persistent features especially if it's persistent new blood clots are another possibility uh deep Venous Thrombosis so again uh cancer can affect the the way that this the whole body system works it can affect the way that um the blood clots and and sometimes the first thing the first time that people know they've got a cancer is the developer blood clot in the leg when they've never developed one so-called a deep Venous Thrombosis dangerous in themselves potentially because they can become pulmonary embolism this condition called Vino thromboembolism but uh blood clot just don't say it's a blood clot I've had some treatment and better bear in mind it could be a symptom of uh something else bone pain yeah that can be a a feature of possible um blood type cancers check it out intercurrent infections wherever they are cancer research UK um they stress what is normal for you is it lasting longer than normal is this persistent and they do an excellent graphic I'm going to show you now why not print it out put it on your wall somewhere there you go um rather than nice graphic that they uh publicize and uh basically summarizes the things that we've said there so most times you get these features it won't be a cancer but don't ignore it because the time you ignored it could be or the time you ignore it in a in a friend in a family member it could be get it checked out and the vast majority of times you can be reassured that it's not a Cancer and go and relive the the rest of your life as normal on the odd occasion that it is a cancer then treatment is so much more likely to be effective is it if it's early now obviously I've I've seen so many people with Cancers in professional life in healthcare um but there's been I don't know I would say probably about half a dozen occasions where someone's come to me and said something that makes me think oh just a minute so um they might say you know I had some blood in my urine last month and it seems to have gone away now so I'm just forget about it was only one occasion no you don't get that checked out blood in the urine is always abnormal so this simple information uh in in just in my normal family social life interactions um has actually resulted in a few people being the vast majority of course we reassured by the doctors one or two have been diagnosed with something that needed treatment and lives have been saved because advice was given to seek medical help at an early stage so there we go we'll leave it there lots of information no apologies for that we had to go through that um it is concerning that we are seeing more counters being diagnosed at the moment and I suspect for reasons I'm not going to go into on this video that we might be seeing more councils diagnosed I am afraid over the next few years High index of Suspicion early treatment massively increase the probability of successful outcomes thank you for watching

Channel: Dr. John Campbell

Views: 1,802,881

Keywords: physiology, nursing, NCLEX, health, disease, biology, medicine, nurse education, medical education, pathophysiology, campbell, human biology, human body

Id: Q5_BFnz-Gt4

Length: 24min 22sec (1462 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 23 2022