Ovarian
cancer, the 5th most common cancer in women, is often referred to as
“the silent killer.” Currently the American Cancer Society estimates that
21,980 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 14,270 women will
die from ovarian cancer in 2014. Yet despite its prevalence relatively few
people know how deadly this cancer is, or how to recognize it.
Sadly
recognizing ovarian cancer is not easy. The nickname “the silent killer” refers
to the fact that ovarian cancer is very hard to detect, as many women show no
outward symptoms of the disease or attribute the symptoms that do emerge to
other health problems; as a result of this only 15% of ovarian cancer patients
receive an early diagnosis. Most women are diagnosed with late stage Ovarian
Cancer, and unfortunately thanks in part to this delay only about 45% of women
live five years or longer after an ovarian cancer diagnosis.
Because
no routine screenings for ovarian cancer exist yet, women of all ages need to
know the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. If women do experience one, two
or more of these symptoms persistently, they should consider asking for an
ovarian cancer test. It’s better to be safe than sorry: too many women ignore
their symptoms or attribute them to other health issues when even having one
symptom could be a sign of ovarian cancer.
Keep
scrolling down to learn more about ovarian cancer’s symptoms and find out who’s
most at risk from it in infographic form.
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