Woman with UK's most common cancer ignored four symptoms before stage 4 diagnosis

A woman has urged people not to ignore four symptoms she noticed before being diagnosed with a common form of cancer.

In the UK, someone receives a cancer diagnosis every 90 seconds on average. Breast cancer, the most common form of the disease, made up about 15% of new cases in women between 2017 and 2019 – and men can be diagnosed with the disease too, accounting to 1% of breast cancers.

Mum-of-one Kristi, who has stage 4 breast cancer and regularly shares updates about her condition to TikTok, said in the caption of her video: "If you have these symptoms, too, it does NOT mean that you also have breast cancer, but please talk to your physician and ADVOCATE for yourself!!!!"

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Severe fatigue

Kristi admitted she ignored fatigue before receiving her diagnosis. Johns Hopkins Medicine explains that "extreme fatigue that doesn't get better with rest" can be an early warning sign, not just of breast cancer, but of many cancer varieties.

"Cancer uses your body's nutrients to grow and advance, so those nutrients are no longer replenishing your body. This 'nutrient theft' can make you feel extremely tired," the medical organisation writes.

Weight loss while constantly craving sugar

Stamford Health reports that weight loss associated with cancer can be caused by a number of factors. "Depending on the type of cancer and the organs affected, individuals may experience nausea or a lack of appetite, or have difficulty chewing or swallowing, which causes their food intake to drop," the health body reports.

Some early research has suggested sugar cravings can be an early warning sign of cancer. The National Institute of Health (NIH) also reported: "There is evidence of an association between cancer and certain types of altered eating behaviours, including orthorexia, food cravings, and food addiction."

Bruising easily

Bruising or bleeding easily is most commonly found in blood cancer patients. According to Leukaemia Care, frequent bruising or bleeding preceded nearly a quarter of leukaemia diagnoses.

When cancer has reached stage 4, as is the case for Kristi, it means the disease has spread to other parts of the body. Everyone's cancer journey and symptoms will be slightly different.

Dull aching back pain that kept getting worse

Kristi said she suffered back pain that became increasingly hard to ignore. Breast cancer that has spread to the bones can cause pain or discomfort in areas such as the hip or back.

According to the NHS website, the most common symptoms of breast cancer are:

• a lump, or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit

• a change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling (may look like orange peel) or redness (may be harder to see on black or brown skin)

• a change in size or shape of 1 or both breasts

• nipple discharge (if you are not pregnant or breastfeeding), which may have blood in it

• a change in the shape or look of your nipple, such as it turning inwards (inverted nipple) or a rash on it (may look like eczema)

• pain in your breast or armpit which does not go away – breast pain that comes and goes is usually not a symptom of breast cancer.