Loose Women’s Brenda Edwards recalls her cancer diagnosis

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There are many different types of cancer. However, the two main categories fall between blood and solid tumour cancers. As the name suggests, blood cancer affects blood cells while tumour cancers target the body’s organs and tissues. There’s one specific sign that could be signalling four different types of this disease – ovarian, lung, stomach and pancreatic cancer.

The symptom linked to eating which could be a warning sign of four types of cancer is a loss of appetite, American Cancer Society reports.

There are various reasons why cancer can leave you feeling without the desire to eat.

It’s mainly cancer itself that leaves you with a very low appetite. But this can become even worse once you start the treatment as that can be an additional factor.

The reasons why cancer affects your appetite include:

• Tumour
• Hormones
• Underlying symptoms.

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Tumours and loss of appetite

Depending on the location of the tumour, it can affect your eating.

If it’s located in or around your gastrointestinal tract, it can cause trouble swallowing or make you feel full even without having any food.

Some tumours can also release specific hormones which impact the way your body recognises it’s hungry.

This mechanism can also make you feel full even when you’re not.

Other causes of appetite loss

Cancer is often linked to pain, stress, depression, dehydration and nausea.

All of these can affect your appetite or leave you without it.

Certain types of cancer, including ovarian, lung, stomach and pancreatic cancers are another common cause behind the sign linked to eating.

For example, ovarian cancer doesn’t only cause you to lose your appetite but it also induces feelings of satiety quickly when eating, the NHS states.

The problem with this symptom is that it can lead to weight loss, the cancer charity warns.

Shedding weight can result in feelings of tiredness and weakness, affecting your everyday activities.

This can even have an effect on how you respond to cancer treatment, according to the charity adds.

Even though the loss of appetite can be a sign of the condition, the treatment and surgery can also affect your eating habits.

If you struggle with appetite, speak to your GP or a cancer team, the American Cancer Society advises.

If you manage to target these problems early on, it can help lower your risk of losing too much weight or having poor nutrition.

Some things that might help with troubled appetite are snacking throughout the day instead of having three large meals and avoiding drinking with meals.

However, this doesn’t mean you should skip water altogether as it’s still important to stay hydrated.

Also, making your favourite meals or creating an enjoyable atmosphere could also give your appetite a boost, the charity concludes.

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