People Who Have Been Diagnosed With Cancer Are Revealing The "Shocking" Signs You Should Never Ignore
1."I had a swollen lymph node on the left side of my neck. There was zero pain, but I noticed it while shaving. My doctor put me on antibiotics, but a week later, there was still no change. I got a biopsy, and voila: cancer. Four surgeries, 33 radiation treatments, and six chemo treatments later, and I am getting CAT scans and PT scans this week to hopefully show that I am disease-free."
—Practical_Volume_681
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2."Unbelievable fatigue. The kind that just knocks you to the ground. I'd be trying to make dinner, and I'd sit on the kitchen floor crying because I was so tired. I could sleep all day and never feel energized. I had pain where my ovaries were, and I felt full even if I barely ate. I also had strange bleeding between periods. I had ovarian and cervical cancer."
—Angelicfyre
3."Mine was absolutely nothing, which is why it was scary. Someone told me that my neck looked big, so I thought it'd be best for me to get it checked. My wife is a doctor, so she had many doctor friends who all told me it was probably some benign thyroid hypertrophy. Nope. At 25, I had thyroid cancer. I'm 40 now and thriving."
—Brynhild
4."My words and memory got weird, I wobbled sometimes when I walked, and I got headaches. My initial thought is that, with my age and symptoms, I had multiple sclerosis. Bam: I had a brain tumor, which happened to be brain cancer/temporal lobe epilepsy. It's not all the way gone. I'm on my second recurrence, but I'm still alive."
—Emergency_Formal9064
5."I had a weird, small patch of dry skin on the end of my nose. Every now and again, after a shower, I'd peel the top off, and it'd bleed. I thought it was weird, but didn't look into it until I had an accident and broke my nose. I saw a skin specialist who spotted the dry patch and referred a biopsy. A bunch of surgeries later, I'm free of skin cancer."
—watchingonsidelines
6."I had blood in my poop, loose poops, and pain in my butt for a year or so. I got a colonoscopy and got diagnosed with Stage 3C rectal cancer. I'm just starting treatment now."
—raptorboy
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7."Long story short: I had a routine colonoscopy that led to the discovery of a rare cancer. I've said this before, but don't avoid any routine screenings recommended by your doctor. If I hadn't had mine, I would be dead. Now, I'm cancer-free and doing fine."
—DirectAccountant3253
8."My gallbladder was filling with stones, and I was on the waitlist for surgery. When visiting my doctor after an attack, I told them that every time after I had one, the lymph nodes on my neck would engorge. Five minutes later, we established that I actually didn't know where my neck lymph nodes were, and before I knew it, I had a referral to check for thyroid cancer."
—Superb-Ad3821
9."I felt a lump in my abdomen, but only when I was relaxed and lying down. I went to get it checked out; I got an ultrasound and biopsy, and the lump showed up to be a large metastatic melanoma. So, if you notice something strange in your body, go and get it checked out!"
—paul-SF
10."I'm cancer-free now, but my main symptom was coughing blood and a persistent cough. I was a smoker, so I wrote it off as a smokers cough for over a year and didn't both going to the doctor about it until the blood got really irregular. Turns out I had a rare type of hormone-related tumor on my lung called a neuroendocrine carcinoid that had absolutely nothing to do with smoking. Luckily, I was treated with surgery only, so I had my right lung taken out in 2023, and that was the end of it."
—Majick_L
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11."I was ready to have sex with my boyfriend for the first time. I went to Planned Parenthood to get set up. During the pelvic exam, the nurse asked me if I was sure that I'd never had sex. I hadn't! She told me to go to the doctor and get tested. I was unsure at first, but decided to go. The nurse was SO serious about it that she called me that afternoon and daily for three days to make sure I understood that I had to be seen. I went to the doctor to have imaging done, and they found a massive tumor in my intestines. Life changed. I'm all better now!"
—CinnyToastie
12."After I'd lightly run my fingers through my beard, I'd see a smear of blood on my fingers. My primary care doctor referred me to a dermatologist who cut a basal cell carcinoma off my face. Basal cell carcinoma rarely spreads, so the hope was that no further treatment was needed. Eight years later, I felt a small skin bump in the same area. I went to the dermatologist to get it checked. It was fine, but she asked me to take my shirt off for a skin check since I was already there. It took less than five seconds for the doctor to note that there was something that didn't look good on my shoulder. I got it biopsied, and it was melanoma. Get your skin checked, folks. Find it early and get it removed, and your odds are excellent."
—Temporary_Linguist
13."I just had an odd little tickle in my throat. I thought I might have had a chip from some dental work that created a cyst, but it turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil. I'm about four years since finishing treatment now, and everything looks good."
—beowolff
14."Constantly having to pee. I went in for a CT, and they found a 14-centimeter tumor on my left ovary."
—BobsleddingToMyGrave
15."There was a hard area on my left breast. It caught my attention in the shower. It wasn't a defined lump, but it was noticeably hard to the touch than the rest of the breast. I was diagnosed with Stage 2, Grade 3, triple negative breast cancer. Guys, gals, and non-binary pals, please check your chest. All genders have breast tissue. I was 34, so don't let any doctor tell you you're too young for cancer. You know what's normal for your body. If something isn't normal, advocate for yourself!"
—TNBCisABitch
Related:
16."I actually went to get an MRI because I had a mass growing on the side of my head. I swear, it was like it grew overnight. It looked like it was just a benign bone tumor called osteoma, but when I got the scan back, surprise! I had brain cancer. It was a golf ball-sized, Grade 2, solitary fibrous tumor. I had a craniotomy in 2023, but I've had two recurrences in under a year. Radiation and all that fun stuff. I'm currently in limbo as I await my next scan. Fingers crossed that we zap this thing!"
—liquid_skies_
17."I had a cold that took a long time to go away, and at one point, I noticed that my left side was a little swollen. I immediately considered having mono, since I know that can cause your spleen to swell. I booked a doctor appointment and got tested. The result came back negative, but they found that my white blood cell count was 30,000 times what it was supposed to be. Turns out, I had chronic myelogenous leukemia (also known as chronic myeloid leukemia). My spleen was swollen from it, though. The good news is that it's one of the 'best' leukemias to have. I just take a pill every day, and my life expectancy is basically exactly the same as any random person. Here I am 14 years later to prove it. If I hadn't treated it, I would've been dead within five years."
—brosacea
18."My face and neck got very swollen, and I thought at first I was just gaining weight. What finally motivated me to go to the doctor was that I started developing unexplained bruises on my chest and started having trouble breathing. Turned out, I had a huge tumor in my chest that had grown around my heart and restricting blood flow to my head. That was 17 years ago. Now, while I have some lung and hearing damage from the chemo, I'm otherwise fine."
—eskimospy212
19.Lastly: "I had a nine-month 'period' that was incredibly heavy, so I got an ultrasound of my uterus. I found out I had an endometrial tumor. I was given progesterone for about a year, then they removed my uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, etc. I had a Stage 1, Grade 1 tumor. About three months later, I had some additional bleeding and learned I had a recurrence at the surgical site. I then experienced the joy of pelvic radiation. I got a clean scan in April, and now I'm just 'waiting and seeing,' trying not to live in fear of a return. I'm definitely getting my checks for other cancers, and I'm grateful that the tumor was discovered so early. Get your checks, y'all!"
—vvvy1978
If you were diagnosed with cancer, what are the signs or symptoms you experienced that ultimately made you see go see a doctor? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your story using the form below.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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