The cancer symptoms people mistake for ageing or stress

Key Points:

• Many people delay seeing a GP about potential cancer symptoms, often attributing them to stress, aging, or minor issues, which can lead to later diagnoses and worse outcomes; each four-week delay in treatment increases the risk of death by 6 to 13 percent.
• Key symptoms that should never be ignored include persistent fatigue disproportionate to activity levels, changes in bowel habits lasting more than three weeks, unexplained weight loss, new persistent back pain especially in those over 50, and ongoing bloating accompanied by other symptoms.
• Persistent fatigue may indicate cancers such as bowel, kidney, or blood cancers and warrants medical evaluation, especially if accompanied by other warning signs like weight loss or bleeding.
• Changes in bowel habits, including alternating constipation and diarrhea, altered stool shape, or blood in stool, require prompt medical assessment to rule out bowel cancer, which has a significantly higher survival rate when diagnosed early.
• Unexplained weight loss, new back pain not related to movement, and persistent bloating may signal various cancers and should prompt timely GP consultation to enable early diagnosis and treatment.