Beware Of Symptoms, 10 Signs Of Rarely Known Ovarium Cancer

Illustration of the ovarian (Photo: Freepik/mayna_auramchuk)

JAKARTA - Ovalium cancer is known as a 'silent' disease, because the symptoms are often vague and easy to miss. Many women do not realize that they may have ovarian cancer, because their symptoms are often misinterpreted as other more common health problems.

"The big problem with ovarian cancer is that many of the symptoms are often very mild and can be associated with other general conditions," said Dr. Susanna Unsworth, a leading gynecologist from INTIMINA, quoted by VOI from The Sun's website on Thursday, February 20.

The most well-known symptoms are bloating feelings, along with pain in the stomach or pelvis.

"These symptoms are often associated with other problems, and often disappear quickly," he added.

Ovalium cancer is often misdiagnosed as a digestive problem such as intestinal irritation syndrome, or mental health disorders such as stress and depression. As part of the month of awareness of ovarian cancer that falls in March, Dr. Susanna revealed 10 signs of ovarian cancer that need to be considered before it's too late.

1. Symptoms of urine: increase in frequency or urgency to urinate.

2. Changes in defecation habits: changes in the habit of bowel movements, either to be more constipated or more fluided.

3. Changes in appetite or feeling fuller when eating.

4. Symptoms of digestive disorders: stomach acid or excess gas.

5. Lower back pain.

6. Unexplainable weight loss.

7. Excessive fatigue.

8. Pain during sex.

9. Changes in the vaginal bleeding pattern: either between menstrual periods, after having sex, or bleeding after menopause.

10. Nausea and vomiting.

"If one of these symptoms is not lost in two to three weeks, I encourage you to consult a doctor immediately," said Dr. Susanna.

ovarian cancer is a condition in which abnormal cells in the ovaries begin to grow and divide, which eventually forms tumors. If not treated, these cancer cells can spread to surrounding tissues and move to other organs in the body.

"It can affect anyone who has an ovarian," said Dr. Susanna.

"However, this is more common in post-menopausese women, with the risk of increasing with age," he added.

According to Cancer Research, more than half of the cases diagnosed in the UK occur in women over the age of 65.

Apart from aging, there are several other factors that can increase the chances of a person developing ovarian cancer.

"Women carrying broken genes (for example, BRCA genes) are more likely to develop this disease, as well as women with an endometrosis history, they are also at higher risk," the doctor said.

There is also a relationship between the number of menstrual periods experienced by a woman and the opportunity to suffer from this disease.

"Women who start menstruating early, experience later menopause, or who have never used hormonal contraception (which reduces ovulation) seem to also have a higher risk," he added.

There are also lifestyle factors that can affect risks, including overweight and smoking habits. There is also a connection with the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), although the risk is very small.

"Data mainly comes from a longer form of HRT, which shows about one additional case for every 1,000 women who use HRT for more than 5 years." said Dr. Susanna.