Sometimes none. The one and only obvious symptom is vaginal bleeding; hence the name "silent killer."
I may not be a woman but I've read too many stories of women dying of this disorder.
The first answer is wrong. Ovarian cancer does NOT have a symptom of bleeding. If it did it would actually be better since there are no concrete warning signs until the disease is advanced. Bleeding MAY be a sign of cervical or uterine cancer-not ovarian. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are vague-bloating in the abdomen or a feeling of fullness, constipation, gas, pain in the pelvic area, pressure or a persistent feeling of having to urinate, tiredness, weight loss, lack of appetite , pain in the back or legs. All of these together might point to ovarian cancer, but taken one by one, they could be signs of something much less serious.. Ovarian cancer can not even be felt during a pelvic exam in the beginning. it is only when the tumor is adanced that it can be felt, usually through a rectal exam. how do I know? been there, done that..
Tweety Bird, above got it right. I might add that my sister died of Ovarian Cancer with-in two months of it being diagnosed. usually if there are symptoms, or by the time they are taken seriously, it's too late. Ovarian cancer is the #5 cause of death for women, more common in women over 50 (66% are over 55). The American Cancer Society predicts 20, 180 woman will be diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer this year and 15,310 will not survive it. Very grim. The good news is that if diagnosed before it spreads beyond the ovary then the survival rate is 94%. The bad news is that it is rarely diagnosed at that stage because there are no symptoms or they are considered to be other things such as stomach problems.
I had a dream that my sister was dying of Ovarian Cancer, long before it was diagnosed. I had even documented it. but I didn't tell her till right before she died. She said she wouldn't have taken me seriously. I hadn't told her because it was so horrid and now I, in ways, hold myself responsible, because perhaps I could've saved her life.
I will tell you what I experienced because I was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer last Sept.1.
I didn't really know anything was wrong with me until the day I got sick. There were small things going on that I didn't think anything about really. My stomach was often hurting me, whether I had eaten too much or not; I was tired easily. For the most part I didn't really have any symptoms. until that night.
It hit me like a ton of bricks, man! I had severe diarrhea and stomach pains I hope to NEVER experience again! My husband and I are Christians, and after he prayed for me had me get dressed and took me to the ER of our local hospital. They said I was dehydrated and drew some bloodwork, diagnosing me with a viral infection and sending me home 4 hours later. I never fully recovered from that and felt kinda ill the next couple days. When the feeling in my stomach still hadn't gone away that Tuesday, my husband took me back to the ER and they admitted me.
I hadn't eaten anything since that Saturday when I got sick. They hooked me to an IV and gave me some stuff to take for a test and I threw it right back up. I couldn't keep anything down. They did CT scans of my abdomen, sonogram of my abdomen, colonoscopy, barium enema. it was finally determined I had a stricture in my colon and it would have to be removed during surgery. When I went in for surgery that following Thursday, the general surgeon was shocked when she opened me up and found the cancer.
Those were my symptoms. not everyone deals with every symptom. The horrible thing about ovarian cancer is that it is the "silent killer" and most women who are diagnosed with it are in their 50's and up. me? I'm 32. was 31 when I was diagnosed.
Ovarian cancer is a malignant ovarian neoplasm (an abnormal growth located on the ovaries).Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women (after lung, breast, colon and pancreas), the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies and the second most commonly diagnosed gynecologic malignancy
The risk for developing ovarian cancer appears to be affected by several factors. The more children a woman has, the lower her risk of ovarian cancer. Early age at first pregnancy, older ages of final pregnancy and the use of low dose oral contraceptive pills have also been shown to have a protective effect. Ovarian cancer is reduced in women after tubal ligation.
Symptoms-
sense of pelvic heaviness
vaginal bleeding
weight gain or weight loss
abnormal menstrual cycles
unexplained back pain that worsens over time
increased abdominal girth
non specific gastrointestinal symptoms:
vague lower abdominal discomfort
increased gas
indigestion
lack of appetite
nausea and vomiting
inability to ingest usual volumes of food
bloating
Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:
increased urinary frequency/urgency
excessive hair growth
Note: There may be no symptoms until late in the disease. In particular, women should watch for symptoms occurring in groups and lasting two weeks or more.
The treatments are as usual -
Surgery, Chemotherapy, radiation. -KILL CANCER
Best of Luck
Some signs that there is a problem with the ovaries (and that does not always mean cancer) is swelling of the abdomen. The swelling may come on suddenly or be pronounced over a period of days or weeks. some people report swelling of the knee and ankle on the opposite side from the affected ovary. sometimes it is noticeable by a rapid weight gain, discomfort in the lower abdominal area and can produce pain or there may be no pain.
i was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 2 yrs ago. i was having pain on my left side for about 2 days, and i thought i was just ovulating….but it only got worse. when i went in to the doc, my stomach looked like i was 6 months pregnant! when they went in, my ovary had exploded from the tumor.
what's so sad, is there are often symtoms, but they are often diagnosed as gastrointestinal problems. when you tell your doc some of the symtoms, they usually go straight for that…. here are some symtoms:
* unusual abdominal feeling of fullness
* pelvic discomfort
* unexplained indigestion, gas, or bloating
* pain during sexual intercourse
* abnormal bleeding
* swelling and/or pain in the abdomen
in some cases, there is no symptoms.
if you are having ANY concerns, please go to your doctor TODAY and tell him/her you want a vaginal ultrasound to check out your ovaries….they can see cysts and abnormalities this way…and you want a CA125 blood test. this blood test is not 100% accurate in diagnosing ovarian cancer….but nothing is! there is no screening test for it! do all you can! good luck and God bless you!