Blog
Ovarian Cancer Early Detection: Take Action!
February 12, 2013
At last Friday’s Canary Luncheon, ovarian cancer early detection was one of the major topics discussed. Dr. Sanjiv “Sam” Gambhir shared some of the symptoms of ovarian cancer, and reiterated that it should rank high on everyone’s priority list to meet with your physician regularly for checkups and regular cancer screening such as colonoscopy or mammography.
During the interview with Jesse Draper, Don Listwin, Founder of Canary Foundation, promised that he would make a more formal and comprehensive list of symptoms available on the Canary Foundation website and blog. Here they are!
Historically, it’s been believed that ovarian cancer symptoms were too vague to identify. But recent data [1] shows that sometimes it isn’t silent – there may be symptoms, but we have to watch out for them. Remember that nine times out of ten, if cancer is detected early, the patient survives. It’s critical to be in tune with your body and alert to any changes that might signal the presence of cancer.
Symptoms of ovarian cancer are not specific to the disease, and they often mimic those of many other more-common conditions, including digestive problems. However, when one of these symptoms is new, occurs almost daily and lasts longer than 2-3 weeks, it’s critical to see a physician and get checked out.
- Pelvic and/or abdominal pain
- Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency)
- Nausea or diarrhea
- Bloating
- Trouble eating and/or feeling full quickly
1. Rossing MA, Wicklund KG, Cushing-Haugen KL, Weiss NS. Predictive Value of Symptoms for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2010;102(4):222–229.
