Health Tip of the Week, sponsored by Baton Rouge General and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center: 10 cancer symptoms you shouldn’t ignore

Keeping up with preventive screenings is important, but in between, listen to your body for possible early warning signs and symptoms. Of course, not every symptom with a connection to cancer will actually be cancer, but symptoms you shouldn’t ignore include: unexplained weight loss, changes in bathroom habits, chronic headaches and severe back pain, among other things. Don’t ignore persistent sores or painful areas in the mouth because those could be signs of oral cancer or even a low-grade fever for weeks at a time that could be consistent with lymphoma and leukemia if there’s no other obvious cause. Learn more about the 10 cancer symptoms.