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When life gets busy (that’s all the time, right?), it’s easy to brush aside seemingly minor symptoms like a cough that lasts for almost a month or weight loss that you weren’t expecting. But symptoms like these actually deserve a bit of attention—especially when they’re persistent—because they could be signs of cancer.

“Early cancer symptoms often mimic mundane, everyday ailments, but the difference is they don’t go away,” says Bradley Scott Colton, M.D. “They gradually worsen over weeks.”

Here are some early cancer symptoms doctors say you shouldn’t ignore.

1. A Lingering Cough

Shortness of breath or a lingering cough that just doesn’t ever seem to go away can be symptoms of lung cancer.

“The reason lung cancer can cause changes in breathing or a cough is because the tumor affects the airways or interferes with normal lung functioning,” says Jay Luthar, M.D. “When this happens, someone may feel out of breath climbing stairs when they could do so before with ease. Or they may believe they have caught a cold, only for the cough to last for months.

However, cancer isn’t the only possible cause of a lingering cough, Luthar says. Many other health conditions can cause similar symptoms, including asthma, respiratory infections, chronic lung disease and other lung conditions.

If a cough or shortness of breath is related to lung cancer, you may also experience other symptoms like chest discomfort, a hoarse voice, fatigue, repeated chest infections, coughing up blood or unexplained weight loss, Luthar says.

“See a doctor if a cough lasts longer than three weeks, there’s a noticeable change in a cough or you experience breathlessness doing activities that you can usually manage,” Luthar says. From there, your health care provider can help determine the underlying cause.

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2. Unexplained Weight Loss

Some types of cancer can affect appetite, metabolism or nutrient absorption and may cause unexplained weight loss or gain. You may notice that you’re not eating as much as usual, or your clothing is looser.

“Unexpected weight loss due to cancer is often accompanied by fatigue, weakness or feeling full quicker than usual,” Luthar says.

If you notice any unexpected weight changes and haven’t recently changed your diet or exercise habits, it’s a good idea to see your primary care provider. There are many possible reasons you might lose weight—many of which have nothing to do with cancer—but your doctor can help determine the cause.

It’s also important to stay up-to-date on your preventive health care visits and recommended cancer screenings. “These preventive care appointments also let your primary care provider establish a baseline for how your body operates, which allows them to better identify any changes in the future,” Luthar says.

3. Changes in Your Bowel Habits

A change in bowel habits can be a sign of colorectal cancer. These changes can be caused by a growing tumor that’s obstructing the colon or irritating the bowel lining, Colton says.

“This isn’t a single day of an upset stomach,” Colton says. “It’s a noticeable shift from your baseline—like new-onset constipation, diarrhea or a narrowing of the stool to a pencil-thin caliber—that lasts for weeks.” Other bowel symptoms include abdominal pain and rectal bleeding.

If a change in bowel habits persists for more than two or three weeks, it’s a good idea to see a doctor, Colton says. He also recommends seeking immediate care if you notice symptoms like blood in the stool, severe abdominal pain or unexplained weight loss. You’ll also want to stay up-to-date on recommended screenings, including colonoscopies.

4. Fatigue That Doesn’t Improve After Resting

Intense fatigue that doesn’t let up is a well-known warning sign of cancer.

“Unlike normal tiredness, cancer-related fatigue is exhaustion that doesn’t improve with rest or sleep,” Colton says. “It happens because tumors consume vast amounts of the body’s energy and release inflammatory proteins, or cause microscopic internal bleeding that leads to severe anemia.”

If you’re experiencing severe exhaustion for seemingly no reason and it lasts more than two weeks even when you’re getting enough rest, see a doctor. They can assess your symptoms and get started with testing to determine what’s going on.

Our Expert Take

A lingering cough, unexplained weight loss, changes in your bowel habits and fatigue that doesn’t get better with rest are all early cancer warning signs. Experiencing these symptoms doesn’t mean you definitely have cancer—other conditions can cause the same symptoms. But when these symptoms persist, you should consider seeing your health care provider to get to the root cause.