Ovarian cancer – push for greater awareness

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 12 2012

Women are being warned about ovarian cancer – mostly a silent killer, since many do not know what symptoms to look out for. Each year in the UK around 6,700 women are diagnosed with the disease and more than 4,000 women lose their lives.

The five-year survival rate in the UK is just 36%: that is one of the lowest in Europe, and has changed little over the past three decades. By way of comparison, UK survival rates for breast cancer have risen over the same period from around 50% to more than 80%.

According to cancer charity Target Ovarian Cancer Government needs to raise awareness of the cancer, which is the fifth most common in women in the UK. Anwen Jones from the charity said, “Late diagnosis is a major problem for us - 29% of women are diagnosed following admission to A & E and this is simply appalling. This is not acceptable.”

Target Ovarian Cancer says the four key symptoms to look out for are: persistent pelvic or abdominal pain, increased abdominal size or persistent bloating, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and urinary problems. Doctors say there is a danger the symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses, which means the cancer is often left too long before detection. According to a study last month by Ipsos Mori for Target Ovarian Cancer, just 3% of women feel confident in their ability to recognize these symptoms (by contrast, more than three-quarters of the 1,004 women questioned recognized that a breast lump could be a sign of breast cancer).

Dr Annabel Bentley, who works for BUPA, said, “One of the issues with ovarian cancer is the symptoms - bloating, pain, changing bladder and bowel symptoms - can be confused with other conditions. What I would say to women is: don't self diagnose, don't think over the age of 50 that you have got irritable bowel syndrome. If you have got persistent symptoms, see your GP for advice.'”

The charity is campaigning for ovarian cancer to be included in the government's ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ public-information project, which has seen TV ads made about the symptoms of other cancers, such as bowel cancer.