Called the silent disease, ovarian cancer strikes many women every year. Because it usually is not discovered until it is too far advanced, treatment options are many times not successful. By this time it has spread to other areas of the abdomen. There ARE some warning signs, though, that appear early enough to detect the cancer and treat it before it is too late.

It is not clear how many cases of ovarian cancer had early warning signs because most of the women diagnosed were already in the later stages of the disease. Of course these women had symptoms but it was impossible to tell how many of these women had symptoms BEFORE the spread of the cancer. Something else to consider is that it often takes as long as months to diagnose ovarian cancer. Nearly half of these cases take more than 3 months to reach a diagnosis. Others can take longer than a year to figure out what is wrong. This is the reason that it is totally possible that many women had early warning signs.

You should keep in mind that not all women will experience the same symptoms. That is why it is so important to learn what all the possible signs may be. Then you can recognize them and see your doctor immediately.

The most common first sign is swelling and bloating of the abdomen. Most of the time, this is ignored and considered to be just a bit of extra weight gain. These can be accompanied by pain in the abdomen or pelvis, vaginal discharge or bleeding, gastrointestinal symptoms like gas, fatigue, urinary issues, difficulty breathing and back pain.

Most of the time, these signs do not mean that you have ovarian cancer. However, it is still important that you check them out. While it most likely is not cancer, in the event it turns out to be, you have a better chance of curing it when caught early.

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