These symptoms are not always warning signs of cancer. They can also be caused by less serious conditions. It is important to see a doctor if any of these symptoms occur. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. A person shouldn't wait to feel pain because early cancer usually does not cause pain.
Observation is the most widely available examination for the detection of cancer.
It is useful in identifying suspicious lesions in the skin, lip, mouth, larynx, external genitalia and cervix. The second most available detection procedure is palpation. It is particularly valuable in detecting lumps, nodules, or tumors in the breast, mouth, salivary glands, thyroid, subcutaneous tissues, anus, rectum, prostate, testes, ovaries and uterus and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, axilla or groin. Internal cancers require an extension of observation through endoscopes, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound. Laboratory test, such as the Pap smear, and occult blood testing of the feces have also proven helpful for some of the cancers.