section_path: Signs and symptoms/Systemic symptoms
section_name: Systemic symptoms
paragraph_text: Systemic symptoms
  
  Systemic symptoms may occur due to the body's response to the cancer. This may include fatigue, unintentional weight loss, or skin changes. Some cancers can cause a systemic inflammatory state that leads to ongoing muscle loss and weakness, known as cachexia.
  
  Some cancers, such as Hodgkin's disease, leukemias, and liver or kidney cancers, can cause a persistent fever.
  
  Shortness of breath, called dyspnea, is a common symptom of cancer and its treatment. The causes of cancer-related dyspnea can include tumors in or around the lung, blocked airways, fluid in the lungs, pneumonia, or treatment reactions including an allergic response. Treatment for dyspnea in patients with advanced cancer can include fans, bilevel ventilation, acupressure / reflexology and multicomponent nonpharmacological interventions.
  
  Some systemic symptoms of cancer are caused by hormones or other molecules produced by the tumor, known as paraneoplastic syndromes. Common paraneoplastic syndromes include hypercalcemia, which can cause altered mental state, constipation and dehydration, or hyponatremia, which can also cause altered mental status, vomiting, headaches, or seizures.