Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

It is very difficult to give you clear, definitive signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, which is the last thing that you wanted to read. I am sorry about that.

Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

However, on a more upbeat level, there are signs that you can look out for, the problem is that these signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer are easily confused with symptoms of other conditions.

They can even be confused with normal menstruation. The main symptoms of ovarian cancer are: abdominal pain, tiredness, a feeling of being bloated, weight loss and problems with passing water.

If you are used to these symptoms during menstruation, but get them for prolonged periods outside your cycle, there may be cause for worry, but equally, there may not.

The first thing to do is not to panic, but to book an appointment with either your general or a gynecologist. Do not forget that menopause can also produce similar symptoms in some women, if you are at that time of life.

The Signs And Symptoms Of Ovarian Cancer
Unfortunately, there is no one reliable method of checking for ovarian cancer either, but there are two test, neither of which is conclusive.

If both tests prove positive, it still does not mean the patient has ovarian cancer, but it does give a signal that more in-depth tests have to be made.

The two test that are usually made are not invasive to the point of surgery. The first is a CA125 blood test and the second is an ultrasound scan, which may be taken from inside the vagina or from the outside, depending on the doctor's personal technique or preference.

As stated above, if both of these tests proves 'positive', it is still inconclusive evidence, but the doctor or gynecologist will then want a sample of tissue for further tests. This is by no means a difficult operation, but it will provide conclusive proof one way or the other.

If the worst comes to the worst, treatment depends on age and fitness, to a large extent. younger women, who are in the early stages of ovarian cancer may be successfully operated on and their fertility may be preserved.

Older women, who for one reason or another do not mind having their ovaries removed, can go down that path.

The point is here that it is not a totally black picture and that there are options in all but the worst cases of ovarian cancer.

Chemotherapy may be needed in cases where the ovarian cancer was diagnosed late in order to prevent the cancer from spreading to more vital organs than the ovaries, which people can live without.

The point to remember with ovarian cancer, like all other cancers, is the quicker that it is diagnosed, the easier is the cure. Almost 75% of women who are diagnosed with the disease while it is confined to the ovaries can be saved.

The lesson to be learned is to get a doctor or gynecologist to check you for the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer on a regular basis and to keep your appointments as if your life depends on it, because, in all honesty, it could do.

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