Symptoms of CUP

The signs and symptoms are different for everyone. They will depend on the secondary cancer or type of cancer/s you have. Some of the symptoms may include:

• Breathlessness, discomfort in the chest or a collection of fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion). These can be caused by a secondary cancer in the lungs.
• Bone pain can be caused by secondary cancer in the bones.
• Swelling and discomfort in the tummy (abdomen), feeling sick (nausea) and loss of appetite, fluid collecting in the abdomen (ascites) or/and yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice). These symptoms can be caused by secondary cancer in the liver.
• Swollen lymph nodes (also known as glands). These are part of our lymphatic system, which helps the body fight infection and disease. If the cancer has spread to lymph nodes, they may feel hard and swollen or cause pain through pressure on tissue or nerves nearby. Lymph nodes anywhere in the body can be affected but more commonly nodes in the neck, underarm, chest or groin are affected.
• Looking pale, feeling tired and breathless due to a lack of red blood cells (anaemia).

People with CUP often have more than one secondary cancer. So you may have a combination of different symptoms.

General symptoms

The following general symptoms are also common:

• weight loss
• no appetite
• feeling extremely tired (fatigued).

It’s important to let your doctor know about all your symptoms. Tell your doctor about any other recent symptoms, even if you don’t have them anymore.