Symptoms of cancer can be both generalised and related to organ involved by tumour. Generalised symptoms include– weakness, malaise, anorexia, nausea and weight loss.

Organ specific symptoms relates to the organ involved as pain and ulcero-proliferative mass in oral cavity cancer, cough and haemoptysis in lung cancer, dysphagia and pain in upper GI tract cancer, altered bowel habit and constipation in colon cancer, bleeding per vagina in cervical cancer.

Detailed history, current complains and thorough clinical examination helps clinician to suspect site of cancer origin. Further confirmation of diagnosis and staging of cancer is done with help of radiological and pathological assessment.

Radiological evaluation helps to certain local disease extent, lymph node involvement and distant metastasis, thus clinically stage the cancer. Radiological investigations include- x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, and PET-CT scan.

For diagnosis confirmation and classification of tumour biopsy is necessary, which can be acquired with the help of needle or punch biopsy forceps or sometimes surgical excision biopsy is done.

Because appointments with cancer doctor can be brief, and because there’s often a lot of ground to cover, it’s a good idea to be well-prepared.