Cancer experts have revealed a set of warning signs that might herald the onset of ovarian cancer. According to a study led by Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, some of the warning signs include bloating, abdominal pain, rapid feeling of fullness while eating and an urgent need to urinate.
The experts warned that a woman who is experiencing these symptoms over a period of two weeks should immediately consult her gynecologist. The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Cancer Society say that such symptoms could be early warning signs of ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is often known as "silent killer" due to the fact that there are no early symptoms of the disease and can be only detected when it has spread beyond the ovaries. However the latest study could provide hope to millions of women who stand the risk of contracting the disease.
"We used to think ovarian cancer was very slow-growing, that it was aggressive and people did not have symptoms early. Now we believe symptoms occur much earlier. And it suggests to me the cancer is not always rapidly growing and it may be able to be detected in the early stages", said Dr Barry Rosen of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of Canada.
Over 15,000 women are expected to die due to ovarian cancer this year in United States, with an additional 22,430 new cases to be reported. Around 45 percent of all women who contract ovarian cancer are expected to survive beyond five years of the diagnosis.
However the chances of survival increases to 93 percent if the cancer is identified early and removed by using a surgical process. Dr Barbara Goff, the director of gynecologic oncology at the University of Washington in Seattle, said that while most of the cases with such symptoms might not be ovarian cancer, health experts will have some information to help them combat the disease.
"The majority of the time this won't be ovarian cancer, but it's just something that should be considered. We don't want to scare people, but we also want to arm people with the appropriate information", she added.
