Experts Warn “Woeful” Ovarian Cancer Awareness-Here Are The Symptoms To Watch Out

Experts have warned of a “woeful” lack of awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer after a study revealed two-thirds of girls had never detected of the unwellness before they were diagnosed.

Research by the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition showed two-thirds of women diagnosed with the condition did not know about it before.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of the condition include abnormal bleeding and discharge from the vagina, particularly in that post-menopause; pain in the back, abdominal and pelvic region; as well as feeling bloated and full quickly after eating. Needing to pee more often or feeling constipated could also be related to ovarian cancer.

Around 239,000 women worldwide are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year and less than half will live another five years. According to what the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition described as a conservative estimate, one in six women (40,000) will die three months after they are alerted they have the disease.

What's additional, rates of the condition are foretold to spike to 55 % by 2035 as efforts to tackle mortality rates are slow compared to different cancers, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition highlighted. Investigating attitudes towards ovarian cancer among patients may facilitate stem this drawback.

Annwen Jones, the co-chair of The Every Woman Study and CEO of the U.K.-based charity commented: "This study, for the first time, provides powerful proof of the challenges faced by women diagnosed with ovarian cancer across the world, and sets an agenda for international modification."

"We were particularly afraid by the widespread, woeful lack of awareness of ovarian cancer. It's important that pressing steps are taken in each country to lift awareness of the disease and speed up designation in order that we are able to rework the outlook for the increasing numbers of women and their families full of ovarian cancer round the world."

Some 37 tending professionals from 15 countries and World ovarian Cancer Coalition partner organizations, were surveyed for the study to paint an image of attitudes and practices. Existing analysis on the disease was additionally taken into consideration for the study. The resulting information was used to create the Every Woman Study Online Survey, which 1,531 women across 44 countries completed between March and May 2018.

The researchers found “a devastating litany of the challenges” faced by women with the disease and people who cared for them. The survey revealed that the women with ovarian cancer and those who cared for them too usually had an absence of awareness of the symptoms and additionally encountered obstacles being diagnosed. Other issues the report highlighted included an inequality between those with a case history and testing that may catch the disease earlier that might facilitate boost survival rates. In additionally, the treatment and support women received was found to be lacking.

Not even a single country is coping with the disease entirely effectively, the organization warned.

Women within the U.S., for example, waited more than 3 months on the average before visiting a doctor to visualize their symptoms. However, they were additionally the most doubtless to endure genetic testing.

In the U.S., ovarian cancer accounts for around 3 % of cases of the disease but kills more women than any other form affecting the reproductive system. Annually, approximately 20,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.