Be Clear On Cancer

Coughing, chest pain and breathlessness

Contact a GP if you’ve had a cough for 3 weeks or more.

Symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain may also be a sign of a condition such as pneumonia. Speak to a GP straight away if you have these types of symptoms.

Lump in your breast

Speak to a GP if you notice a lump in your breast or if you have a lump that’s rapidly increasing in size elsewhere on your body.

Your GP will refer you to a specialist for tests if they think you may have cancer.

Unexplained weight loss

You should also speak to a GP if you’ve lost a lot of weight over the last couple of months that cannot be explained by changes to your diet, exercise or stress.

Read about unintentional weight loss.

Bleeding

You should also speak to a GP if you have any unexplained bleeding, such as:

• blood in your urine
• bleeding between periods
• bleeding from your bottom
• blood when you cough
• blood in your vomit

Moles

Speak to a GP if you have a mole that:

• changes shape or looks uneven
• changes colour, gets darker or has more than 2 colours
• starts itching, crusting, flaking or bleeding
• gets larger or more raised from the skin

Any of the above changes means there’s a chance you have malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer.