Comments

22 comments

Sadly as a woman with endometriosis which has spread to the pelvis and bowel with adhesions there is no way I would be able to differentiate the symptoms of ovarian cancer from my current disease

– February 25, 2011, 1:40PM

Another symptom is constipation. my best friend complained of this for almost a year. Eventually she went to the doctor for a checkup and found after some investigation that she had cervical cancer. it was a less aggressive type of cancer that triggered the release of an enzyme that caused constipation.That was really her only symptom.

AP | Sydney – February 25, 2011, 1:47PM

Actually, the 5-year survival rate for people diagnosed with breast cancer is over 90%… which makes the ovarian statistics all the more concerning

Shane | Melbourne – February 25, 2011, 2:07PM

I have all of these symptoms. but I also have coealic disease and poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. And between these two the bloating, fatigue, pain and changes in bowel habits are well and truly covered.

Kate – February 25, 2011, 3:41PM

I also have had endometriosis with adhesions and I found that acupuncture virtually cured it, leaving me pain free and happy again. Western medicine seems to have no cure, but acupuncture has worked for other people I know with endo too, I can not recommend it highly enough.

Sadly, I do not know of a better treatment or diagnosis for ovarian cancer

Nicky | Melbourne – February 25, 2011, 3:46PM

My mother died of ovarian cancer last November.

All I can say is that if you are unsure, keep going back to your doctor and demand more scans and check ups. She persisted, and after some months doctors found a football-sized tumor in her abdomen! this was removed and she underwent preventative chemotherapy. it came back again about four months after her treatment and this saw a fast decline.

My thoughts are with those who have this sad, agressive disease, or those who are in the scary place where they feel they have symptoms but are unsure of their origin. Sadly, ovarian cancer does not get a lot of publicity. even though it isn’t as common as breast cancer, it surely has a much higher mortality rate.

The more we talk about this disease, the better.

Timberrr | Melbourne – February 25, 2011, 4:41PM

What I also find worrying is that there is no way a woman can go to a doctor and have a routine test, be it an ultra sound or something else to check on the health of her ovaries.Why isnt anyone discussing this?I had, sadly unsuccessful, IVF attempts where I was internally ultra sounded every month or so on the ovaries to check the growth of follicles. Couldn’t the same thing be done for all women on a regular basis to check for lumps etc?can anyone answer this for me please?

Internet armchair traveller | Melbourne – February 25, 2011, 8:35PM

Useful information for the most part. Not sure what the relevance of Patrick Dempsey is. What a very peculiar photograph!

ruth | Melbourne – February 25, 2011, 9:22PM

i read recently where drs are angered at people checking things on the net..so i do feel guilty saying ‘i read this & it sounds like me..’ with my dr replying im sure lots of people have a few painful spots in their bodies !?? my small pain has been dismissed by the dr & large gyno hospital here but to me its becoming more prominent as a lump ..whats next ..i think of the money i will make sueing these people if it is discovered i actually do have something..how much longer with all the knowledge of the net available to us are we to be treated like naughty children by drs !??

anne | perth – February 26, 2011, 3:49AM

During our reproductive years and beyond, we are advised to have biennial pap smears to detect cervical cancer. After age 50, we are invited to have mammograms and continue our pap smears. also, bowel scan kits will be sent to you at age 50. perhaps it would make good sense that when we go to the doctor for our pap smears from age 40 onwards, we ask our doctors to screen us for ovarian cancer as well. As previous correspondents have pointed out, the vagueness of symptoms matches many other conditions we can suffer from. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

Robyn | Central Highlands – February 26, 2011, 10:46AM

show more comments

Comments are now closed