Did you know that the average Canadian woman has a 1 out of 65 chance to develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime? It’s not as common as breast cancer, but still touches many, many women. Because awareness is synonymous with prevention, we’ve got an overview of how to recognize its symptoms.

A few facts on ovarian cancer
Although it’s fairly rare, ovarian cancer is the fourth main cause of death due to cancer among Canadian women. What makes it a dangerous enemy? Late detection. There are three reasons that explain this: 1) the absence of a detection test, 2) a lack of information on the symptoms (which will be presented hereafter), and 3) similar symptoms for other benign conditions. The best plan: be aware of the first signs and visit your doctor yearly, or after the appearance of symptoms for more than two weeks.

List of symptoms*
Do you have the feeling of being full after only eating a few bites of food? Or do you feel like the food stays stuck? Often, a decrease in appetite can be noticed, as well as loss of weight that is not due to a diet.

Nausea, vomitting, heart burn, gas, or indigestion can also be noted. Other symptoms are also possible, such as diarrhea, constipation, a constant need to relieve your bowels, painful stools or a burning sensation when relieving your bowels, or rectal pain.

Also, a need to urinate more often or urgently can be felt, or urine leaks, burning sensations while urinating, or a feeling of needing to urinate when nothing comes out, a sensation that your bladder is full even having gone to the washroom.

Other signs: the sensation of being bloated, or having a bloated stomach or abdomen, the feeling that your clothing is too tight around your waist. Also, you may feel like you have a weight in your abdomen.
Pain or discomfort can frequently be noticed in the abdomen, or the lower part of the back.

Lastly, vaginal bleeding or secretions are possible, as well as intense pain when having sexual intercourse.

In conclusion…
Check out our report on ovarian cancer to find out more on the topic!

*Source : McGill University Health Center, DOVE project