Warning Signs: What Published Guidance Supports
Most turn out to be something else entirely, and stage at diagnosis is the single largest determinant of outcome.
Key takeaways
- Persistent cough: more than 3 weeks
- Change in bowel habit: more than 3 weeks
- Most useful single change: Use the three-week rule for cough, bowel change and mouth ulcers.
- Commonest mistake: Waiting to see whether a persistent symptom settles.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
What it is
The symptoms that warrant assessment because they can indicate cancer. It sits within Cancer Awareness. The table below gives the figures guidance actually works from.
The numbers, in one place
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Persistent cough | more than 3 weeks |
| Change in bowel habit | more than 3 weeks |
| Mouth ulcer or patch | more than 3 weeks |
| Always report | unexplained weight loss, any lump, blood in urine or stool |
| Most of these symptoms | have a benign explanation |
What helps
These are the changes with the clearest evidence behind them. Start wherever it is easiest to start.
- Use the three-week rule for cough, bowel change and mouth ulcers
- Report any new lump, however small or painless
- Say plainly if you are worried about cancer; it is useful information
- Keep a note of when the symptom started
What to avoid
What to steer clear of, and why it catches people out.
- Waiting to see whether a persistent symptom settles
- Assuming painless means harmless
- Being embarrassed about the symptom; clinicians are not
Where to go next
- Myths About Warning Signs, Checked Against the Guidance
- Warning Signs for Beginners: Where to Start
- Warning Signs — the reference entry
- Cancer Screening: What Published Guidance Supports
- Reducing Cancer Risk: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
When to speak to a doctor
See a GP promptly for unexplained weight loss, any new lump, a cough lasting more than three weeks, coughing up blood, blood in urine or stool, a change in bowel habit lasting three weeks or more, a changing mole, a mouth ulcer lasting more than three weeks, difficulty swallowing, or bleeding after the menopause.
Where this comes from
- NICE — Suspected cancer: recognition and referral
- Cancer Research UK — signs and symptoms
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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