This post is from teen Emma's inspirational blog http://emmalouisedunn.blogspot.co.uk/
"The title of this post is self explanatory and it may not appeal to you in any way but if you don't know or are unaware of some/all the symptoms of cancer then I urge you to read on.
I have teamed up with CATS to create this post highlighting the main symptoms of cancer... CATS is dedicated to promoting awareness and early diagnosis of cancers in young people. Whether it's events, fundraisers or talks they're here so that teenagers and young people know what signs to look for and when to go and get themselves checked, potentially saving lives. I'll leave their links below, please check them out!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCATScampaign
Facebook: https://facebook.com/CATSmanchester
The chances of getting cancer at a young age are considered slim, but it happened to me and I was just your normal healthy eleven year old, so how slim must the chances be? If cancer in young people is considered uncommon then why is it the second leading cause of death in children? Before I was diagnosed, I had no clue what the symptoms for cancer were because like every other person, why should I know? You don't ever think that it is going to happen to you and lets be honest, at eleven years old I was blissfully unaware of what cancer was and until I was diagnosed, even my family members and many other people around me were totally unaware of childhood cancer.
I have decided to write a list of the symptoms that I have personally experienced, symptoms my friends have experienced and also researched symptoms that other people may experience - the more knowledge the better and with the help of CATS, who have kindly emailed over some of these super cool awareness posters I hope that these help raise awareness and may help you spot they key signs...
Becoming more breathless than usual - (I shamefully hold my hands up to this, although I do now have the equivalent to maybe just over half, maybe 3/4 of a lung that's cancer free) but this isn't any ordinary breathlessness like walking up a flight of stairs etc that should cause any concern... by breathlessness, I'm talking about walking down the road for a minute then having to stop and sit down because it feels as though you've been walking forever and like your whole body is about to collapse, or getting extremely breathless even trying to hold a conversation with someone for longer than a minute or so... Not being able to stand up in the shower for longer than 5 minutes without feeling exhausted or lightheaded. These are just a few of the symptoms that I experienced and at first I put it down to laziness, I don't exercise and due to my other illnesses I don't tend to leave the house very much, but I soon realised these symptoms weren't normal.
Extreme tiredness - This one ties in well with breathlessness and was amongst one of the side effects that I had experienced with my lung metastasis. I'm pretty sure everyone feels tired, especially around their teenage years. I'd be up all night tossing and turning, and still be getting up early for education/work but extreme tiredness is a whole new level. I would wake up for college at around 8am and afterwards go straight back home at around 3pm for a three/four hour sleep roughly waking up between 6:30 and 7:30pm. It felt like I was hardly getting any sleep at all, when the truth was, I was getting in any extra hours I could...
Changes to moles - It is always important to check moles in the sense of size, colour and if they start to itch, feel hard or lumpy or the skin becomes to feel dry or scaly, the mole changes in shape, or starts to ooze or bleed then it's best to get checked out.
Lumps, bumps and swellings - This symptom was amongst the first that I experienced, my right femur was swollen and it was very visible too. It is always extremely important to check your body every couple of weeks, if there are any signs of lumps, bumps or swellings then it is a lot safer to go and get it checked out, just to be sure.
Bleeding - This isn't a comfortable situation for anyone to talk about but it is extremely important... if you find blood in your urine or poo (sorry to be so gruesome, but honesty is the best policy) then please make sure to get it checked out!
Constant headaches and dizziness - Our generation spend the majority of our times on technology, whether it be a computer whilst we are at education or work, to checking our phones every two minutes to see if we have any new notifications - I hold my hand up to this, I am totally guilty! But if constant headaches and migraines are affecting the way you live your daily life, then it is ideal to get them checked out, it could mean that you need glasses, but it's always better to get checked out.
Sudden weight loss - Small weight changes over time are quite normal, but if you lose a noticeable amount of weight without trying to, always seek advice. I remember losing almost half a stone in just a few weeks before being re-diagnosed with cancer in my lungs and I'm not gonna lie, it felt absolutely amazing... Until I realised that it was a symptom of cancer.
Night sweats - This was a symptom that I only actually realised I suffered with recently, I didn't think anything of it at the time of my diagnosis because my bedroom was in the loft and summer was fast approaching but I would wake up several times in the night absolutely soaking with sweat - ew! This is actually really common, and could be nothing but if you are experiencing this, get it checked out!
Unexplainable pain - This can be an usual pain that occurs out of nowhere and doesn't seem to ease with painkillers that are taken. Amongst swelling this was another major symptom that I experienced, the pain that I endured was mainly during the night and felt like severe growing pains... As I was only eleven at diagnosis, I was fobbed off by hospitals, and doctors for months who refused to take me or my mum seriously. Painkillers did nothing for this pain and eventually it prevented me from being able to walk properly, and once I was diagnosed my consultant warned my mum that if I hadn't been to the hospital that day and carried on weight baring for a few days longer that my leg would've snapped as the tumour had grown out of my bone and was also eating away at the muscle and surrounding tissues! (TMI and super gross, I know but this is why posts like these are super important, it could save a limb.. or a life)
There you have the top symptoms of cancer, this post was in no way made to try and freak you out.. suffering from one or more of these symptoms does NOT automatically means that you've got the "dreaded C" I just want to raise awareness and inform people of the most common symptoms as it is always good to be well aware and after all, we know our bodies better than any doctors... If you feel like something isn't right then please don't refer to Dr. Google but instead book in with your local GP and have a chat. If you have read up until this stage of the post, then thank you, thank you, thank you and I can only hope that by reading this that you have learnt something new to take away with you. Before you go, I'd love it if you could leave a comment - if you're a fellow blogger then drop me your link below and I'll be sure to check you out.
It'd mean the absolute world to both me and the amazing people at @TheCATSCampaign if you could share this post on any of your favourite social media sites and help raise awareness of the top 10 cancer symptoms and also highlight that cancer affects children and young people too! If you would like to get involved, you can share the pictures included in this post, or contact CATS personally where they will be more than happy to email over some of their amazing work so that you can help raise awareness!
Happy Friday my lovelies, I hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever you have planned! I think I'm going to spend the weekend catching up on some much needed rest after so many sleepless nights on steroids and hopefully see my little brother and sister...
What do you have planned?"
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