Health & Fitness
Symptoms of Stage 4 Cancer
The article is dedicated for those Person who are suffering form a Cancer. Here, you can find Symptoms for Cancer Stages.
Cancer of the last stages is a condition often and by majority considered incurable. Be it a malignant tumor in the breasts or in the lungs, advanced stage cancer is menacing. What is disappointing, however, is the fact that many people (approximately 45%) don’t realize that they have cancer until they have progressed to that stage of the disease. The life expectancy rate at that stage of cancer varies considerably. The following are a few factors that determine the life expectancy of a patient suffering from stage 4 cancer:
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Gender: Talking particularly about lung cancer, it can be said that women have a higher life expectancy than men, even if the cancer is on an advanced stage.
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Age: Most of the times, a younger patient can cope and survive with cancer for a longer period of time. The advanced stage of cancer can be treated more effectively in young people given that they live a healthy lifestyle.
Response: The way the body (and mind) responds to chemotherapy is really important in determining life expectancy. Some people respond better than others to radiation and chemo.
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Complications: Cancer brings with it a number of other complications, most common of which are blood clots. Clotting considerably reduces life expectancy of the one suffering.
Signs and Symptoms
During the advanced stage of cancer, the person experiences a number of physical, mental and emotional changes. Some symptoms that are usually observed include:
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Fatigue: A common symptom of the final stage of cancer is frequent exhaustion. The patient will often witness signs of extreme fatigue accompanied by pain in bones.
Weight Loss: Another widely noticed and visible symptom of advanced stages of cancer is loss of body weight. Some people drop almost as much as half of their weight in some cases.
Agitation and Irritability: Emotional changes are normal as the sufferer is facing unprecedented physical changes. The pain, at this stage, is excruciating. Therefore, nervousness, anger and anxiety are expected.
Other Symptoms
Often also referred to as “active dying” the final day symptoms in case of cancer include:
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Body temperature falling down to an extremely low level
The feeling of hunger and thirst getting diminished
Increased hallucinations and profuse perspiration
A Strange Case that Gives Hope
In 2010 The NY Times published an uncommon case of an advanced stage breast cancer survivor. This wasn’t something ordinary. A victim of breast cancer disclosed to the paper that she has been living with breast cancer for over 17 years. In her case, a hormone that a very few know about was used to cure her severe condition. One of the doctors disclosed to her that some people do live with it. Some can even survive 20 or 30 years. This cluster is in minority though. There are only 2% of people who survive even Stage 4 Cancer.