September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and ovarian cancer prevention is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. In 2005 I lost a friend, colleague and fellow OR nurse to this insidious disease. Please, don’t ignore these subtle symptoms, be vigilant and listen to your body!
{Click on above diagram for a larger image}
AWARENESS
Ovarian cancer is the most serious of all gynecological cancers. Over 2600 Canadian women are diagnosed every year; and every year 1750 women succumb to this disease. Symptoms are varied, vague and easily missed. Until there is a reliable early detection screening test awareness of the signs & symptoms is our most powerful tool.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
AWARENESS: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
There is no one specific symptom for ovarian cancer. The symptoms are generally vague, non-specific and can be mistakenly attributed to other causes. Just because you have the symptoms, does not mean you have ovarian cancer.
COMMON WARNING SYMPTOMS
- Swelling or bloating of the abdomen
- Pelvic discomfort or heaviness
- Back or abdominal pain
- Fatigue
- Gas, nausea, indigestion
- Change in bowel habits
- Emptying your bladder frequently
- Menstrual irregularities
- Weight loss or weight gain
Other symptoms…
- Mass or “lump” in your pelvis that you can feel
- Inability to eat normally
- Pain with intercourse
- Vaginal bleeding
If you have one or more of these symptoms and these symptoms persist for 3 weeks or longer, see your health practitioner immediately.
For more information please visit –
- Disease Basics
- General Information
- About CA-125
- Other Gynecologic Cancers
- Visit our YouTube channel – Ovarian Cancer Canada regularly post informational videos, teleconferences, and other materials.
VISIT IT’S TIME TO SHOUT – An Ovarian Cancer Canada partner in raising ovarian cancer awareness.
Information contained in this post was obtained from Ovarian Cancer Canada, It’s Time To Shout and Health Canada.
{Disclaimer – The material provided on this site is designed for information and educational purposes only. The materials are not intended to be a self diagnostic and/or self treatment tool. I encourage you to use this information as a tool for discussing your condition and/or concerns with your health practitioner.}
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great post – my grandmother died from Ovarian cancer when she was in her fifties….it’s a cause near and dear to my moms heart.
Thanks Ashley, it’s a surprisingly seldom talked about disease. I’m sorry for your and your mom’s loss.
wow. thanks for this post. I didn’t know anything about ovarian cancer until now :( It’s quite scary!!
It is very scary and a surprisingly seldom talked about disease.
Such great information to know. Such a scarey thing to think of but it’s always good to be informed. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the very informative post!
Cancer needs to be cured. It’s such a terrible disease.
I helped a friend through her treatments for Ovarian Cancer in 2005. Those were some long and scary nights. Thank God she is in remission.
Thanks for this…so important.
Very important information to get out to women everywhere.
Thank you so much for posting! Women have to be more aware of taking care of themselves. We tend to be busy taking care of others and our own health suffers. Ovarian cancer is definitely an area we need to pay attention to.
It’s so easy to just overlook certain symptoms because most people don’t think that symptoms in different parts of their bodies could be from the same cause. I would never have guessed some of those symptoms had anything to do with Ovarian Cancer. Thanks for the heads up.
Cancer is so scary! Always good to know what to keep an eye out for.
Thanks so much for posting about this! There’s so much I didn’t know, and it’s important for women to be aware of their bodies and any changes.
Sorry to learn of your loss! This is a great awareness post! I’m actually one who has had multiple ovarian cyst surgeries so I’m always very worried about this disease. Thanks for sharing!
Ovarian cancer is a scary disease, and it’s troublesome that the symptom list is so vague & non-specific. Truth be told, I often have a lot of the listed symptoms (and I assume a lot of others do too) so it really is hard to know when to go to the doctor. The 3 week rule of thumb sounds like a good barometer, however.