Women must be trust their body’s signals to catch ovarian
cancer early. The majority of ovarian tumors are benign and not cancerous, like
cysts. Malignant tumors are more common in older or post-menopausal women, but
it is crucial for women of all ages to be aware of bodily changes and compare
them to a list of possible symptoms. Ovarian cancer is known as a silent killer
for a reason and is incredibly difficult to diagnose because excuses can be
made for most of the symptoms. Yet the signature sign of ovarian cancer is
“persistent, frequent and novel” symptoms instead of the occasional occurrence.
The majority of cases actually have symptoms about 12
months before official diagnosis. Ovarian cancer sufferers live with
persistent, frequent symptoms that are new to them. The symptoms will probably
include:
- pain in the stomach and or pelvis
- on-going bloatedness
- reduced appetite because of feeling full quickly.
Less
common but possible symptoms include:
- abnormal lethargy
- back pain
- urgent need to urinate
- changes in bowel movement patterns
Symptoms can arise from any number of reasons and doctors are
mostly unwilling to perform unnecessary tests. However, family history is still
a strong risk factor that doctors will pay attention to.
The earlier the detection, the better the chance of survival. Survival
rates can be as high as seven out of 10 for those who are diagnosed early.
“If you
are seeing those symptoms at least once a month prompt your doctor to do a CA125
blood test and
transvaginal ultrasound. Current guidelines do not recommend screening for
women at average risk. Why? Because, unfortunately, both the CA125 blood
test and transvaginal ultrasound screening methods are quite poor especially
when used alone for early detection.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment