Ovarian cancer often proves fatal because symptoms
rarely occur until the disease is fairly advanced. (NCI)
Jan. 30--"Use of symptoms to trigger medical evaluation for ovarian cancer is likely to result in diagnosis of the disease in only one of 100 women in the general population with such symptoms."
This is the conclusion of a study in which the number of positive ovarian cancer diagnoses were compared the number of women who showed signs of the disease but did not have ovarian cancer.
In an article posted to the Web site of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle determined that only daily nausea reliably indicated the likely presence of ovarian cancer. No other typical symptoms of the disease--pelvic pain, abdominal pain, bloating and feeling full, and feeling the need to urinate frequently and urgently--occurred often or consistently enough to serve as guides for fuller assessments of the presence of ovarian cancer.
Early detection of ovarian cancer is essential because the disease spreads rapidly and has a high mortality rate, as the following table shows. Across the United States, fewer than 50 percent of women who develop ovarian live for five years following their diagnosis. Catching the cancer while it is still confined to the ovaries, however, can raise a woman's chance for long-term survival to higher than 90 percent.
| City | Cases | Deaths |
| Chesapeake | 41 | 37 |
| Hampton | 34 | 26 |
| Norfolk | 53 | 42 |
| Portsmouth | 30 | 18 |
| Virginia Beach | 103 | 83 |
Source: Virginia Department of Health
Stating the obvious, the authors of an editorial accompanying the article describing the unreliability of symptomatic diagnoses of ovarian cancer wrote that the study findings "highlight the urgent need to develop better molecular markers and improved imaging modalities for ovarian cancer screening."
Comments
Good article. I lost my grandmother to that unfortunately. She was only 57. I cant help but think if they had caught it sooner, she would still be here.
Whilst the detected ovarian cancer rate may only be 1 in 100, the other 99 women are still ill and in need of care and investigation. Many will have had other medical conditions which need attention. This is the nature of healthcare.
Until such time as a reliable and safe screening mechanism for ovarian cancer is found, symptom investigation is all we have.
Ignoring symptoms or having them dismissed by the doctor only adds to the distress of the eventual diagnosis, particularly when, as in most cases, the disease has spread and less likely to be successfully treated.
Whilst the reporting of the findings is accurate, the lack of reporting the wider context may lead to misunderstanding, and place ovarian cancer care at risk.
Please all be aware of the symptoms. Consider the possibility of ovarian cancer, and keep returning to your doctors if your symptoms do not improve.
Louise - Ovacome - UK.
I lost my gradmother in 1992, she was 67 yrs old. She was diagnoised 5/91, she passed away 4/92. This disease spreads like wildfire.
I was fortunate to have persistant symptoms & a doctor who listened when I went and said that I thought I had something going on with my right ovary. She organised scans straight away & referred me to a gynaecologist (who then referred me straight on to a gynae oncologist). My tumour had grown within a few weeks and my tumour markers were also rising.
I was fortunate. All markers indicated that the type of tumour I had was one that was about to change and it would have become malignant. I had to lose both ovaries but pathology revealed that it was all still benign and I have required no further treatment.
Many women are not so lucky. We need to take some responsibility for ourselves, be aware of symptoms and insist on a pelvic ultrasound to rule OvCa out. It's certainly better to catch it early than to find out once it has already started to advance.
I have to deal with early menopause but I have a future. Please be aware of the symptoms & seek help.
Yvonne
ovariancancer.net.au
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