Silent Killers – 3 Deadly Cancers That Can Catch You Unsuspecting

Almost one year ago, America mourned as actor and heartthrob Patrick Swayze passed away at the hands of a silent killer. As you probably know, it wasn’t a crazed psychopath that stalked and finally claimed his life, but… it was a stalker all the same.  By the time his killer was identified it was too late.  Though the signs were there, they went undetected for far too long. By the time he sought help, pancreatic cancer was ravaging his body.

Sadly, this is too often the case. Ambiguous symptoms prod us that something is not as it should be but the problem is the symptoms are often too vague. It’s easy to shrug them off as something innocuous.  Identifying the cause of the symptoms is an arduous task for doctors because many diseases exhibit the same symptoms.

Sometimes they’re so subtle that months or years can pass before they finally get much needed attention. In many cases that turns out to be too little too late.

Silent Cancers

In addition to pancreatic cancer there are two other cancers that are difficult to catch early on in the disease. They develop slowly and quietly. Ovarian cancer and esophageal cancer are extremely difficult to detect in the early stages. Yes, the symptoms are vague but if you pay attention, chances are they aren't completely hidden.  You just need to know what to look out for.

Ovarian Cancer

This is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose in women. Symptoms mask themselves as common aches and pains associated with menstruation and gastrointestinal discomforts. But if you have risk factors for ovarian cancer then you should take heed to what these symptoms may be telling you.

The symptoms of ovarian cancer are pelvic pain, abdominal pain, increased urination, bloating, and feeling full after eating just a little.


The likelihood of developing ovarian cancer relates to the number of ovulations a woman has experienced. In other words the more ovulation periods the higher the risk. Protective factors that decrease the risk are pregnancy, birth control use, and breast-feeding. Ovulation stops during these times.


Esophageal Cancer

The esophagus is the tube that connects your throat to your stomach. When you eat, swallowed food goes down the tube and into the stomach. Before it gets there it has to pass through a sphincter muscle, which under healthy conditions contracts so that stomach acid can't flush back into the esophagus.

But if the sphincter is it working properly, over time stomach acid can back up into the esophagus and severely damage the lining. This leads to Barrett's esophagus, which in turn can lead to esophageal cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer

The pancreas is responsible for hormones, insulin production, and enzymes that help digest food. The rest of the gastrointestinal system receives these hormones and enzymes from the pancreas. When the pancreas shuts down, other organs follow suit.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer and is incredibly hard to detect. Once it’s diagnosed, treatment is even more difficult.

Warning signs of pancreatic cancer include back pain, weight loss, jaundice, nausea, and a light-colored stool.

Hopefully someday science will progress to the point where tests can detect genetic markers for all cancers. That way doctors would have a heads up that a cancer may be developing.  But until then everyone must do their own due diligence and pay attention to what's going on in their body.