‘Silent Killers’: 5 Cancers You Need to Know About
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‘Silent Killers’: 5 Cancers You Need to Know About

‘Silent Killers’: 5 Cancers You Need to Know About
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Published on October 27, 2025
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With new treatment options emerging regularly, cancer survival rates have improved over the past 50 years.

 But the hardest cancers to detect often aren’t found until advanced stages, which can make treatment — and survival — more difficult.

These “silent killers” have very few symptoms (or none) until they reach a late stage or spread to other organs, leading to a missed cancer diagnosis and worse outcomes.

 Below, learn about the deadliest cancer types and how you can catch them earlier.

Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer forms in the tissues of the ovaries — two female reproductive glands that produce eggs and hormones like estrogen and progesterone.

 Almost 70 percent of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in late stages, like stage 3 or 4, which drastically lowers survival rates.

“One reason for the late diagnosis of ovarian cancer is the lack of effective screening combined with symptoms that are often nonspecific and attributed to other non-gynecologic conditions,” says Mitchell Clark, MD, MPH, a gynecologic oncologist for Yale Cancer Center in Stamford, Connecticut, and an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine.

Key symptoms of ovarian cancer include:

  • Abdominal or pelvic pain, swelling, or pressure
  • Urinary urgency (needing to pee suddenly or frequently)
  • Difficulty eating enough
  • Lump in the pelvic area
  • Gas, bloating, and constipation
  • Vaginal bleeding

Healthcare providers don’t always suspect ovarian cancer when patients report these symptoms, says Dr. Clark. “Studies show that prior to meeting with a gynecologic oncologist, ovarian cancer patients are referred for two to four other specialties before ovarian cancer is considered.”

Your provider may check for ovarian cancer sooner if you have risk factors like a family history, genetic markers (like BRCA1 or BRCA2), or endometriosis. Your risk may also increase if you have never been pregnant, take hormone replacement therapy, are overweight, or have gone through menopause.

Some experts say screening doesn’t help. “There’s no evidence in both normal and high-risk patients [demonstrates] that either ultrasounds or blood tests are effective for improving survival, and there may be harm from false positives from testing leading to unnecessary surgery,” says Dale Shepard, MD, PhD, an oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute.

While no screening test for ovarian cancer is routinely recommended, experts are studying methods like pelvic exams, transvaginal ultrasounds, and blood tests.

Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer starts in the cervix, the lower end of the uterus that opens into the vagina.

 In one study of 6,484 people diagnosed with cervical cancer, 45 percent received a late-stage diagnosis.

 When diagnosed at a later stage, five-year survival rates drop, especially in people older than 65 and in those who are Black or Hispanic.

“The primary reasons for late diagnosis of cervical cancer is lack of screening because of older age or lack of access to screening because of inadequate insurance or ability to get medical care,” says Dr. Shepard. “Screening effectively detects early-stage cancer.”

Common cervical cancer symptoms include:

  • Vaginal bleeding outside of menstrual periods
  • Watery or foul-smelling vaginal discharge
  • Pelvic pain
  • Pain during sex (dyspareunia)
You may be more likely to develop cervical cancer if you have risk factors like obesity, a weakened immune system, a history of smoking, or if you use birth control pills. Some women were exposed to a medicine called diethylstilbestrol (DES) before they were born, which can also increase the risk of cervical cancer. This medicine was given during pregnancy to prevent miscarriages between 1940 and 1971.

“Fortunately, we have an excellent system of screening for this cancer,” says Clark. “A large proportion of cases of advanced cervical cancer occur in women who have not been screened at appropriate intervals or don’t get screening at all.”

If you have none of the risk factors above, experts recommend getting a Pap test (cervical smear) or an HPV test every three to five years, depending on your age. If you have a higher risk, you may need these tests every year.

“The HPV vaccine has also been effective at decreasing the incidence of cervical cancer,” says Shepard. “Between prevention with the vaccine and early detection with screening, cervical cancer is one that ideally should not be diagnosed late.”

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) looks different from other types of breast cancer, making it harder to diagnose. In IBC, cancer cells block drainage (lymph) vessels in the skin, which causes redness and swelling instead of a lump.

At the time of diagnosis, IBC is almost always at an advanced stage, because it grows into the skin within days or weeks.

 In about a third of cases, IBC has already spread to other parts of the body, which can make treatment more difficult.

 The average five-year survival rate for IBC is around 40 percent.

Key symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include:

  • Swelling of breast skin
  • Redness covering more than a third of the breast
  • Thickened or pitted breast skin (looks similar to an orange peel)
  • Inverted or retracted nipple
  • Breast asymmetry (one larger, warmer, or heavier than the other)
  • Tender, painful, or itchy breast
  • Lymph node swelling in the armpit or near the collarbone
Certain factors can increase your risk of developing IBC, including older age, a history of breast cancer or disease, a family history of breast cancer, dense breasts, hormone therapy, past radiation therapy to the chest, obesity, and alcohol use. Higher exposure to estrogen throughout your life can also increase risk, which can happen if you started your periods early, had many pregnancies, or completed menopause later than average.

Although this cancer type can be missed, regular mammograms may sometimes catch signs like skin thickening, increased breast density, and swollen lymph nodes.

 But screening often overlooks this type of breast cancer, says Shepard. “The key for early identification of inflammatory breast cancer isn’t screening, but rapid evaluation in women who have a change in the skin over their breast,” he says.

Pancreatic Cancer

Your pancreas, a gland that produces digestive juices to break down food and insulin to help control blood sugar, sits between your stomach and spine, and cancer in this organ can be hard to catch early.

 “Unfortunately, patients with pancreatic cancer often don’t have symptoms until the disease has metastasized, and even with metastatic disease, the symptoms are often abdominal [pain], back pain, or fatigue, which aren’t specific,” says Shepard.
With one of the lowest survival rates, pancreatic cancer survival averages 13 percent five years after diagnosis.

 Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common pancreatic cancer, has the lowest five-year survival rate, at 10 percent in the United States. When caught early, survival increases up to 44 percent, but many people don’t notice symptoms until it reaches later stages.
When symptoms are present, pancreatic cancer can cause:

  • Yellow skin and eyes
  • Abdominal pain
  • Back pain
  • Weight loss
  • Fatigue
Risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, diabetes, chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), older age, and high exposure to dry cleaning or metalworking chemicals.

“The American Gastroenterological Association recommends screening patients with some hereditary syndromes or with a strong family history for pancreatic cancer,” says Shepard, but patients at an average risk are typically not candidates for screening. If you have a higher risk, your provider may recommend an MRI of your abdomen and an endoscopic ultrasound (from the inside of your stomach or small intestine), says Shepard.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer typically starts in the lining of your airways, and 225,000 new cases are diagnosed every year in the United States.

 Almost 40 percent of lung cancers get diagnosed at stage 4, and about 160,000 people die each year with this cancer type.

You may not notice any symptoms until lung cancer has progressed to an advanced stage. But if you do experience symptoms, they can include:

  • Chest pain
  • Worsening cough
  • Coughing up blood
  • Trouble breathing
  • Wheezing
  • Hoarse voice
  • Poor appetite
  • Unexpected weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Swelling in the face or veins in your neck
The No. 1 risk for lung cancer is smoking, which causes up to 9 out of 10 cases. Other risk factors include drinking alcohol, beta-carotene supplement use (if you’re a smoker), family history of lung cancer, HIV infection, and exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals like asbestos and arsenic.

A low-dose CT scan is the only recommended screening test for lung cancer.

 “Patients who are 50 to 80 years old, with a 20 to 30 pack-year history of smoking and who are currently smoking or have quit within the past 15 years are most likely to benefit from a low-dose CT of the chest for screening,” says Shepard.

The Takeaway

  • Some types of cancer may not have symptoms until they reach a later stage, which can cause a missed diagnosis and worse outcomes.
  • The cancers most difficult to detect include ovarian, cervical, inflammatory breast, pancreatic, and lung.
  • Be sure to see your healthcare provider for all recommended screenings and notify them of any symptoms that persist with no obvious cause.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
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Tingting Tan, MD, PhD

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Tingting Tan, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist at City of Hope National Medical Center.

Dr. Tan's research has been published in multiple medical and scientific journals, including Oncologists, Cancer Cell, and Genes and Development.

A graduate of the Beijing Medical University, Tan holds an M.D. from Peking University Health Science Center and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Her training includes fellowships at the University of California San Francisco Cancer Research Institute and the Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University.

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