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In January 2010, the lead singer of Cure for Caska lost his mother to ovarian cancer. She was 56. Although she was a nurse, she didn’t know the early signs and symptoms that occure with ovarian cancer: Many people don’t. Everyone has a mother and we want to make sure that we do our part to educate as many people as we can so that they, or someone they love can act quickly and survive this horrible disease.  Ovarian cancer is a very dangerous form of cancer because the signs and symptoms rarely manifest themselves before the cancer has progressed to stage 3.  His Mother’s cancer had already progressed to late stage 4 when she was finally diagnosed.  This disease affects women of all ages, but the risk factors jump considerably following menopause.  Below are the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. Print this and send it to the women that you care about.Recent studies have shown that women with ovarian cancer are more likely than are other women to consistently experience the following symptoms:

  • Abdominal pressure, fullness, swelling or bloating
  • Urinary urgency
  • Pelvic discomfort or pain

Additional signs and symptoms that women with ovarian cancer may experience include:

  • Persistent indigestion, gas or nausea
  • Unexplained changes in bowel habits, such as constipation
  • Changes in bladder habits, including a frequent need to urinate
  • Loss of appetite or quickly feeling full
  • Increased abdominal girth or clothes fitting tighter around your waist
  • Pain during intercourse (dyspareunia)
  • A persistent lack of energy
  • Low back pain
  • Changes in menstruation

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if you have swelling, bloating, pressure or pain in your abdomen or pelvis that lasts for more than a few weeks. If you’ve already seen a doctor and received a diagnosis other than ovarian cancer, but you’re not getting relief from the treatment, schedule a follow-up visit with your doctor or get a second opinion. Make sure that a pelvic exam is a part of your evaluation.
If you have a history of ovarian cancer or a strong history of breast cancer in your family, strongly consider seeing a doctor trained to detect and care for ovarian cancer patients so that you can talk about screening, genetic testing and treatment options while you are disease-free.

Source: www.mayoclinic.com