Most people are aware of cervical cancer and have heard of ‘smear tests’, particularly after some recent cases of younger women sadly losing their battle with cervical cancer. There have been numerous awareness campaigns to make sure women attend their routine cervical screening tests. However, a quieter female cancer that is not so commonly talked about, but is taking the lives of four times as many women every day, is ovarian cancer.

Women leave it too late to recognise symptoms and get checked out
March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and this is something that, as a young mother of two girls, I feel passionately about. 11 women in the UK die from ovarian cancer every day, which is mainly because women are leaving it too late to recognise the symptoms and get themselves checked out, meaning that the cancer has already spread. One shocking statistic is that a woman in the UK has a 1 in 50 chance of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her lifetime.

If a woman is diagnosed at the earliest stage of ovarian cancer then her chance of surviving for 5 years or more is over 90%, so early diagnosis is vital.

Symptoms of this type of cancer include:
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Increased abdominal size or persistent bloating
• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• Needing to urinate more urgently or more often
• Irregular periods or bleeding after menopause
• Changes in bowel habits
• Pain during sex

Remember, most of these symptoms can also be a sign of other illnesses that are not cancer, so the recommended advice is to visit your GP if you have symptoms that are unusual for you and that happen on most days for longer than 3 weeks, partic-ularly if you have a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer.

Unfortunately, a common misconception is that the cervical screening programme will detect ovarian cancer. At this current time there is no screening test for ovarian cancer, so accurate and quick diagnosis from health professionals is vital. You can help your GP:

• Keep a diary of all your symptoms and when they are occurring
• You know your body best, so if you feel something is seriously wrong then see your GP as soon as possible
• Tell your surgery you are worried about cancer and need to be seen within a week
• Tell your GP you are concerned about ovarian cancer
• Check your family history and tell your GP
It’s more important than ever to talk about it

Research spend on ovarian cancer in the UK has dropped by a third in five years. This means that it is more important than ever to talk about ovarian cancer and raise awareness and much needed funds for research. For more information about ovarian cancer or how to join the ‘Start Making Noise’ Campaign please visit the following websites:

www.targetovariancancer.org.uk
www.cancerresearchuk.org
www.nhs.uk/conditions/ovarian-cancer