Dear Doctors Column May 12, 2008
Ovarian Cancer Symptoms
Question:
Does ovarian cancer have any symptoms? My grandmother died of the disease and I want to be aware of any warning signals. Answer:
Experts have recently identified a set of symptoms as possible early signs of ovarian cancer, a disease that often goes undetected until it reaches an advanced stage.
Bloating, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, pelvic or abdominal pain, and feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate could indicate ovarian cancer, especially if symptoms are new, present nearly every day for 2 to 3 weeks, and are very different from your usual state of health, according to a consensus statement from the American Cancer Society, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.
The expert groups that issued the statement — the first to provide women with a list of early symptoms for ovarian cancer —stressed that that many other common and less serious conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and urinary tract infections can produce the same symptoms and that the vast majority of the time, ovarian cancer isn’t the cause. It’s when symptoms appear suddenly and don’t go away that experts recommend a visit to the gynecologist for a thorough check up. Even then, a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is unlikely.
If your gynecologist finds anything suspicious during an exam, you should be referred to a gynecologic oncologist (a surgeon who specializes in cancers of the female reproductive system) for a more extensive evaluation.
When ovarian cancer is caught early, before it spreads beyond the ovary, more than 90% of patients are alive 5 years after diagnosis. Less than 20% of ovarian cancer cases are currently found at that less advanced stage, however, and survival for more advanced ovarian cancer is not nearly as high. Experts issued the list of early symptoms to help women and their doctors detect cancer sooner, when treatment is most effective.
People who have an increased risk for ovarian cancer because of a family history of the disease or other factors may want to consider having their risk assessed by a gynecologic oncologist. These specialists use the latest technologies to evaluate individual risk for ovarian cancer, explain results to patients so they can make informed decisions, and offer advice about prevention strategies.
Visit the American Cancer Society for more information about ovarian cancer and early symptoms of the disease.