Bloating or Ovarian Cancer? Six Common Symptoms of an Uncommon Disease

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The risk of having any form of cancer is scary but ovarian cancer is scarier
than most. A few things make it frightening. It’s hard to detect early and
unlike breast, cervical, colon and some other types of cancers we don’t have any
screening tests for it. And it is one of the deadlier cancer types.

But in June of 2007, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the Society of
Gynecologic Oncologists, National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC), and the American Cancer Society agreed on six symptoms
that can help detect ovarian cancer earlier. If women and their health
providers both know about them and pay attention to them.

By knowing these symptoms and remembering that ovarian cancer is most likely
not the cause of them, you will be able to keep things in perspective
avoid unnecessary worry.

6 Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer:

1. Bloating
2. Pelvic pain
3. Abdominal pain
4. Increased abdominal size
5. Poor appetite or feeling full quickly
6. Urinary frequency or urgency

4 Tips for Avoiding Unnecessary Worry:

1. All women have these symptoms from time to time and they are only
   rarely caused by ovarian cancer – usually they are caused by
   uncomplicated and passing conditions.
2. Listen to your body; wait until you have had one or more of these
   symptoms every day for several weeks and they are a change from
   how you’ve felt in the past before you decide it’s time to worry.
3. Knowing what to look for gives you a reliable warning system. Now you know
   when to contact a health professional for further examination and testing.
4. Watchful waiting for a few weeks will not change your long term prognosis or
   treatment success – so try not to panic. If you are concerned you might have
   ovarian cancer, then talk to your health professional about your concerns.

Tests Used to Diagnose Ovarian Cancer

• A pelvic exam that includes both a bimanual vaginal and rectal examination.
• Abdominal, pelvic and/or transvaginal ultrasound. Transvaginal is a more
  sensitive test and is being studied as a possible screening test for high risk
  women. In a transvaginal ultrasound a probe a little larger than a tampon is
  inserted in the vagina. No probe is inserted in an abdominal or pelvic
  ultrasound.
• CA-125 is a blood test. It stands for “cancer antigen 125”. It measures a
  protein normally made by certain cells in the body including the fallopian
  tubes, uterus, cervix, ovaries, and the lining of the chest and abdominal
  cavities. The normal value for CA 125 is less than 35 kU /ml. A CA-125 is
  not recommended as a screening test for ovarian cancer. There has been
  a lot of controversy and misunderstanding about this test. See this page on the
  Women’s
  Cancer Network website for more about that.
• CT scans or MRIs.
• Chest x-rays
• Barium enema x-rays
• Colonoscopy
• PET scans
• Exploratory surgery and biopsies

Here are some additional links to more information about ovarian cancer and
the 6 Symptoms:

American
Cancer Society and the 6 Symptoms

This is a research study published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association by the doctors who came up with the 6 Symptoms.

National Library of
Medicine

Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian
Cancer Registry

This information is offered for educational purposes only and is not
intended to diagnose, prescribe or treat. For that please seek direct care from
a health professional.