Millions of women at risk of ovarian cancer because they dont know key symptom – The Scottish Sun

MILLIONS of women are at risk of ovarian cancer because they don't know one of the key symptoms, a charity is warning.

Target Ovarian Cancer says an "unacceptable" lack of knowledge is putting lives at risk.

1

They warned as few as one in five British women know that bloating is one of the main warning signs of ovarian cancer.

In comparison, almost three quarters of all women recognise that a lump in the breast or armpit can be a signal of breast cancer.

Annwen Jones, chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, warned that neither figure was good enough.

She said: "Early diagnosis is the holy grail in ovarian cancer, and awareness campaigns have the power to save lives.

"It is completely unacceptable that women lack this knowledge.

I want every person at risk of breast and ovarian cancer to sit up and ask themselves, do I know these symptoms?

"I want every person at risk of breast and ovarian cancer to sit up and ask themselves, do I know these symptoms?

"The way things are at the moment is untenable."

The charity also revealed that just one in three women would see a doctor if they were experiencing persistent bloating.

While half would try things like eating probiotic yoghurts or going gluten-free before vising a GP.

It comes after it was revealed that one in five women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer too late to receive any kind of treatment.

Who is most at risk of ovarian cancer?

A number of things can increase your risk from ovarian cancer, including:

In fact, just 20 per cent of patients find out they've got stage 4cancer because symptoms are overlooked or they don't get tested in time.

Ovarian cancer is the biggest gynaecological killer of women in Britain, with the UK having some of the worst survival rates in Europe.

If you get diagnosed in the earliest stage, you've got a 90 per cent chance of surviving over five years.

That drops dramatically to 40 per cent by stage two, which is halved again a stage later.

By the final stage -at which so many women are diagnosed- you've got a 95 per cent chance of dying before those five years are up.

Many symptoms of ovarian cancer are hard to recognise as they are similar to conditions such as IBS.

As well as bloating, below are some of the other key symptoms to look out for:

Belly aches aren't uncommon but if you feel pain every day then that's an indication that something's up.

If you have tension in your stomach or pelvis which goes after passing wind or going to the loo, you might have something like IBS.

With ovarian cancer, however, there's no physical release.

Changes in appetite are always worth getting checked out.

If you normally demolish three good meals a day and suddenly find yourself struggling to eat half of your breakfast, something's not right.

Drinking more water might make you run to the loo but when you're peeing more frequently for no apparent reason, it's worth getting checked out.

Needing to pee usually isn't a sign of ovarian cancer but could be a symptom of something else going on in the area.

Like needing to pee more, there are any number of reasons why you might get lower back pain.

But if you have any of these other signs then you absolutely must go to see your GP as soon as you can.

Our poo tells us a lot about our health.

To know if anything changes, you have to be aware of what's natural for you.

If you normally go for a poo once or twice a day and suddenly find yourself running to the loo five or six times, that's a sign that something is off.

The same applies if you struggle to go at all.

If you haven't been actively trying to lose weight and find that a couple of stone have suddenly fallen off, that's not a good sign.

Losing weight when you are not trying to is avery common symptom in people with cancer.

It may be one of the reasons you first go to the doctor.

CANCER SCARE Docs said tummy pain was STI before they realised I had a giant ovarian tumour

TEST HOPE Blood test that spots ovarian cancer 2yrs earlier than now could save thousands

'GAME CHANGER' 'Wonder drug' for ovarian cancer gets the go-ahead for NHS use

2 FOR 1 Smear test could detect ovarian & cervical cancer - as vaginal bacteria risk found

TRUST YOUR GUT Toddler's swollen belly dismissed as 'gas' but it was 14cm cancerous tumour

SILENT KILLER Blood test that detects ovarian cancer could save thousands of women's lives

GET LIPPY From cervical to vaginal cancer - learn the symptoms that kill 21 women every day

STEALTH CANCER 7 early signs of ovarian cancer - as 1 in 5 patients are diagnosed too late

GET LIPPY 1 in 5 women think you pee from vagina as docs blame confusion for cancer delays

Cancer Research UK says: "If you are not dieting and you lose more than 5 per cent of your normal weight in one month or 10 per cent in six months, your doctor will want to find out the cause.

"For example, if you normally weigh 10 stone (63.5 kg) and lose half a stone (3kg) in a month, or a stone (6kg) in six months that would need investigating.

"This may not seem like a lot of weight, but if you continue to lose weight at this rate, it could become a serious problem."

Link:
Millions of women at risk of ovarian cancer because they dont know key symptom - The Scottish Sun