women are warned of ovarian cancer risk

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201203216186224

Last Updated: 3:05AM 11/03/2012

Too many women are dying from ovarian cancer because they do not know what symptoms to look out for, a cancer charity has warned. Each year in the UK around 6,700 women are diagnosed with the disease and more than 4,000 women lose their lives. Target Ovarian Cancer says the Government needs to raise awareness of the cancer, which is the fifth most common in women in the UK. Survival rates here are among the worst in Europe. Anwen Jones from the charity told Sky News: "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." Chris Haskell, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, was 58 when she was diagnosed in 2010 after noticing a persistent ache in her side. She went to see her GP who referred her to hospital, where an operation revealed she had cancer. "It was very, very scary," she said. "If I was in my 20s or 30s, I would have gone to the doctor earlier but because I'd had a hysterectomy at 42 and any symptoms us girls in our 50s think are menopause symptoms, I wasn't thinking of ovarian cancer at all." Ms Haskell had a course of chemotherapy and was given the all clear 18 months ago.

Like her, most women who get ovarian cancer are in their 50s or older but younger women can also be affected. 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. 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.'"