An interesting article came out this week at the San Diego Union-Tribune by Cheryl Clark discussing the new advisory regarding ovarian cancer symptoms. This advisory was issued in June from the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Cancer Society. The advisory lists four symptoms as possible signs of ovarian cancer: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, frequent or difficult urination, and feeling full quickly or having difficulty eating.Clark addresses physician reaction to this advisory, which is varied. Some doctors believe that the symptoms are vague and usually harmless and this advisory may cause overtesting or unnecessary anxiety. For example, Dr. Philip Young of Vista, CA said, "This isn't going to save any lives because the symptoms are far too vague." In addition, he and other physicians in the article note that even if these symptoms are reported, the disease is probably in an advanced stage at that point anyway.
Dr. Barbara Goff, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington, who helped write the advisory, disagrees.Goff said that in her experience, ovarian cancer patients who complained of such symptoms were often told that nothing was wrong or given diagnoses of anything from depression to irritable bowel syndrome.
"There have been so many women who complained about these symptoms but were blown off by their doctors," said Goff. "We now know that paying attention could mean the difference between a 70 to 90 percent chance of a cure at stage 1, versus 20 to 30 percent at stage 4."
For the general public, this advisory raises awareness of ovarian cancer. On an individual level, it encourages women who are experiencing these symptoms to seek medical care.
Unfortunately, this newspaper article demonstrates that we may still meet up with a doctor who doesn't take these symptoms seriously, or who may even believe that this advisory is unhelpful.
As always, we have to be our own best advocates and if we are experiencing these symptoms, continue our efforts until we get relief and answers.
1. I am 49 years old and was diagnosed with stage 1c ovarian cancer in July 2007. I had been complaining of pain during intercourse, urinary frequency and urgency, bleeding after sex, and bleeding between periods for a few years! Of course I didn't have all of these symtoms all the time. I would say the most consistent one was the "small bladder" problem. I always had to "go". Even once or twice in the middle of the night. Being a women in her late forties, most of my symtoms were brushed off as "things are starting to change". I had no idea that these were symptoms of ovarian cancer because I knew nothing about it. Talk about lack of awareness! But I have to wonder where my doctor's heads were at. Surely they should have had a clue. At my last yearly exam in May 2007, now complaining of abdominal bloat,(which was very noticable because I've always worked out and had a very flat stomach)and a period that just never quite ended, dealing with a continuous mucousy discharge daily, my doctor finally ordered a vaginal ultrasound. I had a grapefruit sized tumor on my left ovary. It was not detectable even at this size, in a regular exam. It had been there for "some time" as they put it. So to say that these symtoms are "vague" is NOT true. Pay attention to these signs and insist on the tests you need. By the way, my mother died of colon cancer at age 40 which was also in my health history right in front of the doctor. We as women must be pro-active and get the word out to all women about these important early warning signes.
Posted at 10:58AM on Nov 20th 2007 by janetremblay