Research from the University of Vermont, Burlington, USA, found that 8 percent of patients, with early stage ovarian cancer report symptoms, most commonly abdominal or pelvic pain (35%), bloating (32%) and vaginal bleeding (20%).
The following are the most common symptoms reported by ovarian cancer patients:
Abdominal cramps, which lasted for longer than two weeks and was not associated with diarrhea or vomiting
Urinary symptoms such as incontinence (lack of bladder control) that grew stronger over two to three weeks
Irregular vaginal bleeding
Below are other symptoms that may relate to ovarian cancer:
Tired and loss in appetite
Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
Gastro-intestinal symptoms such as heartburn, nausea and bloating
Changes in bowel habits such as diarrhea and constipation
Unfortunately, cancer in the ovary can grow bigger and spread to other organs before it starts to show any symptoms. In the US, 15 percent of the ovarian cancer cases are discovered when the woman was being investigated for other conditions.
As you can see, many of these symptoms are often vague and very common. They are also present in many other abdominal and pelvic conditions. Ovarian cancer is often misdiagnosed. This is because its symptoms can indicate other conditions in the bowel or the bladder as well as the ovaries.
The above situation can be changed at any time due to the changes in medical technologies. However, for now what you can do is just be aware of the possibility of the disease, especially if you are at risk. You should be aware of the symptoms if you:
Are over 40. The risk of ovarian cancer increases with age, about nine out of ten cases occur in women over 40
have never taken the contraceptive pill
have endometriosis. Ovarian cancer is more common in women with endometriosis
and/or have a family history of cancer, especially ovarian, bowel, breast or uterine cancer
You should always remember that it does not mean if you have one or more of these risk factors, you will get ovarian cancer. Like many cancers, women with ovarian cancer do not have these risk factors.
Also, remember that ovarian cancer is not a common condition. Most of the time women who have these common symptoms will find out that they have something else, for example, irritable bowel syndrome, urinary tract infection or uterine fibroids. So, don’t panic! If you have some of these symptoms, you should just talk about it to your doctor to see whether or not you need a pelvic examination or any other tests.
Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!
Overview 
