Among women, ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death from cancers involving the reproductive organs. The American Cancer Society (ACS) predicts nearly 22,500 new cases and 15,280 deaths from ovarian cancer this year.
Ovarian cancer has been called the "silent killer" because — since there are no disease-specific manifestations or useful screening tests for it — the disorder is rarely suspected in its early stages.
The cure rate may be as high as 90 percent with early diagnosis, but only about 20 percent of women are diagnosed at such an early stage. Instead, in about three out of four women with ovarian cancer, a diagnosis is made at a late stage when the chances for survival are slim.
A recently released consensus statement, from the ACS, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, and the Society of Gynecological Oncologists, stresses that early-stage ovarian cancer is often accompanied by the following set of seemingly benign symptoms:
- Bloating
- Pelvic or abdominal pain
- Difficulty eating, or feeling full quickly
- Urinary symptoms such as urgency or frequency
The authors of the consensus statement hope to alert women and their doctors alike to think of ovarian cancer when these symptoms occur. While none of the symptoms seems very specific for ovarian cancer, the consensus statement urges a woman to see her doctor, especially her gynecologist, if she suffers almost daily from them for more than a few weeks.
Not only do women often ignore these symptoms but doctors also tend to attribute them to other causes. If your doctor comes up with other diagnoses, gently nudge him or her to consider ovarian cancer.
A number of other symptoms, like constipation, menstrual irregularities, and back pain are too common to be useful for identifying ovarian cancer.
A gynecologist may suspect ovarian cancer on the basis of findings on a routine pelvic examination, but abnormal findings are generally present only in the late stages of ovarian cancer because of the ovaries' location.
So, don't be misled if you had a recent pelvic exam, and your doctor told you it was normal. If you've had this constellation of symptoms for some weeks, even though your pelvic exam is still normal, ask for a painless pelvic ultrasound test, which is the best way to diagnose ovarian cancer.
