March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and aims to raise awareness of the illness that affects approximately 7,300 women each year.
Most women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed when their cancer has spread, but earlier diagnosis means that ovarian cancer is easier to treat and treatment will give better results.
Dr Syed Haidar, oncology consultant at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust, said: “Awareness is so important, to drive forward improvements in diagnosis, treatment and survival.
“With no screening test for ovarian cancer, a woman’s route to diagnosis is key to her survival.”
The two greatest risks for ovarian cancer are age and family history.
Most cases occur in women who have already gone through the menopause (around 50 years old). However, over a thousand young women each year do develop ovarian cancer – which is why all women should know the symptoms.
Over a thousand women each year develop ovarian cancer because they have inherited faulty genes (from either their mother’s or father’s side of the family), for example the BRCA1 and 2 genes.
Dr Haidar said: “Kn
owing the symptoms of ovarian cancer is therefore hugely important.
“Common symptoms include bloating that does not come and go, abdominal and pelvic pain, feeling full when eating and changes in urination and bowel habits.
“It is important that ladies that have these symptoms persistently or frequently visit their GP for assessment.
“If it is caught early it is potentially curable. A lot of ladies I see are cured.”
Ovarian cancer is one of the biggest gynaecological killers of women in the UK, with UK survival rates among the worst in Europe.
Facts and figures from the UK
- Over 7,000 women are diagnosed each year in the UK
- Over 4,000 women lose their lives each year – that’s 11 women every day
- A woman in the UK has a one in 50 chance of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her lifetime
- When a woman is diagnosed at the earliest stage, her chance of surviving ovarian cancer for five years or more doubles
- Nearly half of GPs (44 per cent) mistakenly believe symptoms only present in the later stages of ovarian cancer
- Just one in five UK women (20 per cent) can name bloating as one of the main symptoms of ovarian cancer
- Almost half of women (45 per cent) must wait three months or more from first visiting their GP to getting a correct diagnosis
- Over a quarter of women with ovarian cancer (27 per cent) are diagnosed through an emergency presentation such as Accident and Emergency
- One in five women (22 per cent) mistakenly think a smear test would detect ovarian cancer