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Living well blog
With better knowledge, we can take control of our health. Our experts share how to live well with cancer, reduce your risk, check symptoms and stay healthy.
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07 Jan 2025
How long can you have cancer without knowing?
Cancer can go unnoticed for many years, especially if it’s growing slowly or causing no symptoms. Some people are shocked to learn they have cancer after a routine check-up or seeing a doctor for something they thought was unrelated.
This is partly because cancer doesn’t always show symptoms, especially in the early stages. This is called asymptomatic cancer, which means there are no noticeable signs.
All cancers start very small – as just single cells. It’s often only when cancer grows bigger or spreads that it causes symptoms, which is when most people are diagnosed.
Whether or not cancer causes symptoms depends on:
- The size
- Where the cancer is
- How fast it's growing
Some cancers grow very slowly, so people might be unaffected for many years. Other cancers have vague symptoms that are easy to miss, which can also mean they go undetected until a later stage.
09 Jan 2025