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

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.

Submitted by Carla Mills (view blog) on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 6:39am

Comments

 

Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

As a cancer patient, who has ovarian cancer for the third time in four years, I cannot stress how important it is to advocate for yourself as a woman if you have these symptoms. 

There are MANY women who go to their doctor with these symptoms and are then dismissed only to have ovarian cancer found in it's late stages. 

They call ovarian cancer the "Silent Killer" for a reason.

I've had this happen to me twice and have listened to countless stories of women who have also had the same experience.  

Ideally communication between a doctor and a patient is the key but it doesn't always happen...especially with such common symptoms of an uncommon disease.

Submitted by Lisa@Clusterfook on Thu, 08/14/2008 - 01:14
 

RE: Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Lisa,

You are SO right!

It is VERY important that women (and men) advocate for themselves when they have a symptom or concern that prompts a consultation with a health professional. In a perfect world no one's concerns should EVER be dismissed. But as you say, communication is not always good, so it is even more important to be explicit about why you are seeking care.

I think one of the best ways to insure your concerns are attended to is to say out loud exactly what is on your mind. For example, "I'm experiencing bloating and I am worried it is ovarian cancer." That tells your provider exactly what you are thinking and directs them to appropriate history taking and testing.

Many of my patients express their complaints in vague ways so I often find myself asking, "What is it that you are afraid might be happening?" If I know what's on their minds, I can direct a plan of care that targets both their concerns and my own.

In my experience, patients know when something is wrong. I think my job is to prove (or disprove) their fears, establish an accurate diagnosis and then come up with a plan that will resolve their symptoms. But if the fears aren't expressed explicitly - I'm flying blind. And in the real (imperfect) world time is always an adversary, so we have to work together efficiently. Being forthright saves a lot of time.

Carla Mills, ARNP

P.S. I hope you are kicking your cancer's a--!

Submitted by Carla Mills on Thu, 08/14/2008 - 14:19