Ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the ovaries, the organs that produce eggs in women.  Unlike some other cancers, the symptoms can be vague, so it’s important to know what they are.

Contact your GP practice if you have one or more of the following symptoms, especially if you’re aged 50 or older and have symptoms that have persisted most days over the last 4 weeks:

• Feeling constantly bloated.
• Swollen stomach.
• Feeling full quickly, difficulty eating or loss of appetite.
• Pain in tummy or pelvis that won’t go away.
• You need to wee more urgently or more often than usual.
• Change in bowel habits or symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (tummy pain, bloating, diarrhoea or constipation).

Lots of other conditions could cause these symptoms so while they’re probably nothing to worry about, you should contact your GP practice.

Whatever it is, the earlier it’s found, the more treatment options are possible.

• For information, cervical screening does not detect ovarian cancer.

If you have symptoms, your GP practice wants to know. If it isn’t serious, the doctor or nurse can put your mind at ease. And if it is, finding out earlier means it’s more likely that treatments will be successful.

Many people put off getting symptoms checked as they’re worried they’ll be wasting the doctor’s or nurse’s time – or they might feel embarrassed. Remember, they see hundreds of patients every year and are here to help.

If you’d feel more comfortable with a female nurse or doctor, be sure to mention this when you contact your GP practice.

They might:

• Arrange a blood test, called a CA125 test, that can indicate if further investigations are needed.
• Request an ultrasound scan of your pelvis.
• Examine you internally to see if your womb and ovaries feel normal.
• Refer you to hospital for tests or to see a specialist.