SOME types of cancer may not exhibit symptoms in the early stages.
This means they’re very hard to detect, making diagnosis and treatment that much more difficult.
The initial symptoms are similar to that of other less serious health conditions
There are around 167,000 cancer death in the UK every year – that’s around 460 every day.
According to Cancer Research UK, spotting the disease as early as possible saves lives.
“Cancer that’s diagnosed at an early stage, when it isn’t too large and hasn’t spread, is more likely to be treated successfully,” a spokesperson said.
But some cancers are more easily detected than others.
For example, many skin cancers can be spotted by looking for changes to the skin – something you might notice daily.
But other forms of the disease can form and grow undetected for 10 years or more, as one study found, making treatment more difficult.
It’s not that these cancers have no symptoms at all, rather that the initial signs are similar to that of other, less serious health conditions.
Here are three cancers that are notoriously difficult to spot in the early stages.
Bowel cancer
Bowel cancer often displays little or no symptoms early on.
Doctors spot around 43,000 new cases in the UK every year, with around 268,000 Brits living with the disease today.
It is the second biggest cancer killer in the country, after lung cancer, claiming around 16,800 lives every year.
According to Bowel Cancer UK, signs of the disease include bleeding from the back passage or changes in you normal bowel habits, such as looser poo, pooing more often or constipation.
Medics can sometimes feel a lump in your rectum or tummy, usually to the right hand side.
Feeling like you need to strain to poo even after opening your bowels could also be a sign.
Rapid weight loss and pain in your tummy or back passage could also point to the disease.
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of any common cancer in the UK – with more than half of patients dying within three months of diagnosis.
The pancreas is a large gland that is part of the digestive system, located behind the stomach and under the liver.
According to the NHS, the five signs of the disease that could be mistaken for another condition, or niggle, include persistent stomach ache, backache, indigestion, unexplained weight loss and bowel habit changes.
Other symptoms that might be more obvious include jaundice, difficulty swallowing and vomiting.
Patients may also suffer the symptoms of diabetes because pancreatic disease stops the production of insulin.
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease in the UK.
Early detection is key for beating the silent killer.
The illness is often referred to as this due to the fact that obvious symptoms often develop only when it has reached a more advanced stage, experts at Harvard Medical School say.
While we should always be aware of any new changes in our body, the NHS say there are two red flag symptoms of the illness that you might notice in the toilet.
Both constipation and diarrhoea are signs of the dreaded disease.
According to Cancer Research UK, digestive issues could be because the cancer has spread to the colon or because pressure from the cancer is pressing on the affected area.
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK, with around 7,500 new cases every year, the charity states.