Ovarian cancer warning signs have been known to go undetected both by patient and doctor until the cancer is in its advanced stages. This is how this dreaded cancer has earned the name “Silent Killer.” By the time the cancer is identified, it usually has already spread throughout the patient’s body and this happens to 70 to 75% of all ovarian cancer patients. Fortunately, recent studies have now begun to prove that ovarian cancer warning indicators are not as undetectable as initially thought. Women can look out for these ovarian cancer warning signs to be able to determine if what they have is really cancer of the ovaries.
The problem with the symptoms is that they resemble the warning signs of common ailments that are not related to the cancer at all. This is the reason why it takes so long to precisely determine if a physical symptom is an ovarian cancer sign or not. It is not known what percentage of the initial ovarian cancer stages actually produce detectable symptoms. This makes it extremely difficult to tell what number of women actually manifested symptoms before the cancer spread. On a lighter note, 90% of women diagnosed during Stage 1 of ovarian cancer are known to have gone to their physicians prior to the diagnosis.
Most ovarian cancer warning signs are generally nonspecific and are easily mistaken for those of a whole lot of other illnesses. For instance, urinary problems and fatigue can be caused by a number of totally different ailments so these cannot be foolproof indications of ovarian cancer. There is actually a reluctance in publicizing the various symptoms of ovarian cancer since there is the possibility that people might misdiagnose themselves due to the similarities of the symptoms with those of other conditions. Still, it is not good to be completely ignorant about ovarian cancer warning signs, signs that could save your life if they help you get diagnosed early if you have cancer.
With this in mind, women have to familiarize all the ovarian cancer warning signs so as to at least be aware if the possibility of having ovarian cancer arises. Here are the majority of significant early warning signs associated with ovarian cancer to watch out for:
1.Inexplicable weight gain or loss
2.Loss of appetite
3.Abdominal swelling or bloating
4.Pain or pressure in the abdominal/pelvic region
5.Gastrointestinal problems (changes in bowel movement, queasiness, indigestion)
6.Fever and/or fatigue
7.Vaginal discharge or bleeding
8.Urinary troubles (feelings of urgency, burning, or spasms)
9.Pain when in the middle of intercourse
10.Back pain
11.Difficulty breathing
Out of all the symptoms, abdominal pain not related to diarrhea or nausea and persists longer than two weeks is the most common. 22% of ovarian cancer cases have this symptom while 18% complain of urinary problems that increasingly grow worse. Less than one fourth of women manifested gynecological symptoms (i.e., vaginal bleeding) before being diagnosed which partially explains why most doctors do not think of ovarian cancer first when patients complain to them of its symptoms. Upon initial scrutiny, it appears to be more of a gastrointestinal or urinary tract problem.
In the event that you experience any of these ovarian cancer warning signs and they still continue to trouble you for two to three weeks, it is time that you went to consult your doctor.
