Cancer is a disease starting from gene mutation and when those mutant cells develop to certain extent can they form a malignancy. Therefore, cancer latency is long and hard to notice in early stage. When symptoms present obviously, it has developed to middles or late stage already. So we should be alert to the abnormal changes occur on our body so as to prevent cancer.

There are many hidden troubles of many parts in our body, but what should we do to detect them?

Skin

Carefully check your skin from head to toe, including the skin of chest, back and butt to see if any abnormal changes on size, color and surface of scars, or some wounds and ulcers on skin are hard to heal, or color changes on some parts of skin and even if pain or numbness develop.

Face

Check that if your face is bilateral symmetry, any pimples or spots increase or reduce. After that is to see if the white of eyes becomes yellow or red and the eyes look like dull. Push up your nose tip with your forefinger to find if any special like swelling in nose. The last is to use your thumbs, forefingers and middle fingers to pinch your ears gently to see if pain or hard mass of ears.

Head

Touch all the lymph tissues arranging in preauricula, bilateral neck, tonsils, clavicles, post aurem, or around occipital bone, shallows of neck, posterior nape and so on to mind if any abnormality on size and shape. You must go to hospital for examinations and treatment if any irregular changes touched and you also develop the symptoms like unilateral nasal obstruction, bleeding in nose and earplug at the same time.

Mouth

Check the color, activity and shape of lips and if any lumps on them. To feel if any tenderness, deviation or murmur in facial joints when open and close mouth. Keep your mouth open to see whether there are red swellings, hardness, thickness or spots of inner capsule of cheeks and dental caries (especially the white spots or scars). Observe if any dissymmetry, difficulty in movement or color abnormality by extending and turning your tongue, as well as if any varix or swelling on surface, tip and edge of tongue.

Breasts

Female must check their breasts one week after their menstruation (Any day can do if the menstruation finishes). First keep your breast in natural status, watch if any changes in size, shape or breasts and nipples. Press on nipples to confirm if any fluid comes out. Lift up your arms to have the same examination again. After that, lie on your back with one hand under your pillow, use the fingers of the other hand to touch your breast in clockwise from inside to outside to detect the lumps, thickness or pain. Then repeat the examination on another breast. Please also mind that if any irregular changes of the lymph nodes of upper lateral aspect of breasts and hypogastrica.

Abdomen

Inspect the shape, texture, color and hair of abdomen, any changes or discharge of bellybutton. And then lie on back with your feet bending and abdomen relaxing, use your fingers together to touch the abdomen to feel if any hardness or pain.

Private parts

Some man in middle or old age would touch their testicles and penis to confirm if any lumps or other problems. When touching the testicles, can a man use forefinger, middle finger and thumb together gently. If any special is found, then you may have to be alert.

Secretion

Observe the color, thickness and smells of sputum and whether it is mixed with blood streaks. Notice the color, speed and volume of urine, as well as any blood mass and shape change in stools.

*Surgery, in addition to the appropriate chemotherapy and radiotherapy, are effective in treating early cancer, but certain patients in late stage of cancer may not be tolerate surgery well as they can be relatively weak. A combination of carefully planned minimally invasive therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy can effectively reduce the side effects and discomfort of treatment and may help patient get better efficacy.