Cancer is thankfully rare in teenagers and young adults, accounting for just 1% of all cancer diagnosis. However, because cancer is less common in this age group, they often have to visit their doctor numerous times before they get a diagnosis.

Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has been speaking out about this today and adding his support to creating more awareness of the issue.

Darren said "Young people are needlessly losing their lives to this disease and I therefore support the Teenage Cancer Trust’s campaign, #BestToCheck, to raise awareness of the most common signs and symptoms of cancer in young people and to encourage young people to visit their GP if they are showing signs of any of them."

The campaign also calls on doctors to make referrals at the earliest opportunity, even when they have lower levels of suspicion.

As Dr Louise Soanes, Director of Services at Teenage Cancer Trust, has said “Symptoms of cancer can be wide ranging – from persistent pain and lumps and bumps to unexplained bruising - and young people can see their doctor with one, or several signs. Whilst not all symptoms mean someone has cancer, diagnosing cancer early can have a significant impact on a young person’s life.”

Through #BestToCheck, Teenage Cancer Trust is urging all young people to look out for:

- Lumps, bumps and swellings.These could be anywhere in your body.
- Unexplained tiredness. When you feel completely exhausted, all of the time, and even a good night’s sleep doesn’t help.
- Mole changes.This could be a change in the size, shape, colour or texture of a mole, or if it starts bleeding.
- Pain. The kind of pain that’s persistent and extreme, and doesn’t go away when you take painkillers.
-Significant weight change. This could be weight loss or weight gain, when you haven’t changed your diet, how much exercise you’re doing, or any medication you’re on.

Other signs and symptoms to watch out for are:

- Headaches or dizziness that won’t go away.
Getting out of breath more easily than normal.
- Bleeding you can’t explain – for instance in your urine, after sex, between periods, or if you vomit
- Unexplained bruising. Ongoing changes when you visit the bathroom – like constipation or diarrhoea (or both), pain, or feeling like you’ve not quite finished going. 
- Sweating a lot at night.

Darren continued, "When you are young, it is easy to think you are invincible, but sadly cancer does not consider age and is in fact the leading cause of death from disease in 13 to 24-year-olds.

"Due to the pandemic, I know people of all ages have been avoiding visits to their GP, but if they have a genuine health concern, then they really shouldn’t be as early diagnosis of cancer, and many other illnesses, improves outcomes.

I understand that teenagers may be embarrassed to visit their GP, or may not want to worry their parents, but I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to seek medical attention early if you have any of the symptoms listed above.

"Covid-19 may have dominated 2020, but sadly Cancer isn’t stopping for coronavirus and I therefore urge not only young people, but people of all ages to stay in tune with their bodies and report any suspicious changes – it could save your life."

Find out more about #BestToCheck at: www.teenagecancertrust.org/signs