Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

It is important that women are educated about ovarian cancer symptoms. Ovarian cancer is ranked number five in cancer death in females. While the exact cause of ovarian cancer is still unknown, the disease is more common in countries that are industrialized. One out of every 40-60 women in the United States may be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is highest in older woman. More than 50% of ovarian cancer deaths occur in women between the ages of 55 and 74. It is important that women know what ovarian cancer symptoms are so they can monitor their health.

It should be noted that very early stage ovarian cancer may have little or no symptoms. When ovarian cancer symptoms do occur they can include the following:

• Lack of appetite
• Nausea, bloating, feeling full and indigestion problems
• Weight gain
• Swelling in the stomach
• Lower abdomen pain
• Frequent urination
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Pain in the lower back
• Abnormal bleeding from the vagina

If you have any of these ovarian cancer symptoms you should get checked out by your doctor. Just because you have some of the ovarian cancer symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have ovarian cancer. These symptoms can be present in other conditions.

There does appear to be some risk factors in regards to ovarian cancer. Studies show that the more children a woman bears the lower her chances are of developing ovarian cancer. Becoming pregnant at a very young age, taking birth control pills and having a pregnancy late in life also seem to reduce the chances of a woman developing ovarian cancer. In addition, women who have their tubes tied may also have a reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer.

There is some controversy surrounding fertility medications and whether or not they can put a woman at risk for developing ovarian cancer. However, enough is not yet known to make a blanket statement that fertility medications can increase the risk of ovarian cancer.

Because ovarian cancer symptoms can be non specific it can be hard to diagnose ovarian cancer in its early stages. Many times it is not diagnosed until it has spread and enters into an advanced or later stage of cancer. Detecting ovarian cancer early can greatly increase the rate of being cured. Women are encouraged to have yearly gynecological examinations.

Your physician can monitor your health for the presence of fibroid tumors or ovarian cysts. If anything abnormal shows up in the examination the physician will order further testing. There are new methods for screening ovarian cancer currently being investigated. However, further study is still needed before these test become a part of the routine screening for ovarian cancer.

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