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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What are the symptoms to look for with ovarian cancer?

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  • 1

    Thanks

    Louise Ramsay

    HealthShare Member

    Hi Rochelle, until recently, it was thought that ovarian cancer was “silent” and that the diagnosis wasn't able to made until the disease was end-stage, i.e when the ovary/ovaries were so enlarged with tumours that they stretched the wall of the abdomen thus causing pain.Of course, having a diagnosis so late in an illness like this meant that treatments were often only palliative, and not able to cure the disease.

    Thankfully, nowadays there has been publicity about the fact that ovarian cancer isn't as silent as was once thought. Things to look out for are abdominal pain, an increass in size/ bloating of the  abdomen,  increased frequency of urination and difficulty eating or feeling full quickly. Of course, these things can happen to anyone ( even men!) the thing to look out for is a CHANGE from what is normal for you. Always err on the side of caution, and tell a general practitioner, or, if you are already known to a gynaecologist, tell him/her…this is their area of expertise. In addition, general things  such as losing a lot of weight rapidly for no apparent reason can be indicative of cancer too.

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