OVARIAN CANCER SYMPTOMS
The disease known to whisper has now been shown to speak rather loudly.
New research just released demonstrates that although the symptoms of ovarian cancer are obvious and recurring, yet many women don’t recognize them.
This is a frustrating disease for physicians and a scary disease for women because when it is detected, often it is already in its advanced stages. But lessons can be learned from this research, which shows that the symptoms of ovarian cancer can be identified in the early stages of the cancer, thus helping to save lives.
“When I finally did get the news I was totally shocked because I had stage 3 ovarian cancer,” says Robin. Robin Zarel knew she was at risk for ovarian cancer because of her history of breast cancer a year and a half before. In spite of the fact all the tests had come back negative, she was concerned. “I had a lot of frequent urination. I had very minor bloating, which I mentioned to a doctor and but it was so slight he really didn’t think anything of it,” recalls Robin.
The research, published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, shows there are symptoms like the ones Robin had that do more than just whisper the signs of ovarian cancer. The study found two-thirds of women with ovarian cancer have symptoms that recur.
While many of these symptoms of ovarian cancer are seen in numerous conditions, it’s the number experienced and the frequency of them that raise a red flag. Dr. Carmel Cohen of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine says, “If you take a history immediately after the diagnosis of ovarian cancer and you ask patients whether they had these symptoms and for how long, it’s usually between 3 and 6 months, and very rarely more than 6 months.”
Those with a true cancer usually had symptoms that occurred every day, which is unusual with benign diseases. Women with ovarian cancer were significantly more likely to have pelvic pain, abdominal pain, difficulty eating, increased abdominal size, and urinary urgency, compared to women without cancer. The combination of bloating, increased abdominal size, and urinary tract symptoms was seen in 43% of the women.
The study is important because there are still no adequate screening tests to detect ovarian cancer. “The pelvic examination is the first screening test but it is in fact not very precise in terms of detecting early ovarian cancer,” says Dr. Cohen.
But if a woman looks for the signs of the disease that often does a lot more than whisper, there is the promise of earlier diagnosis and better chances at long term survival. “You need to kind of pay attention to your body, to any changes in your body,” implores Robin.
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