A national media campaign alerting women to the symptoms of ovarian cancer will be launched this week as new survey results reveal many Australian women are unaware of the warning signs of Australia’s biggest gynaecological cancer killer.
The campaign will be launched by National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, which has joined forces with the National Ovarian Cancer Network (OvCa Australia).
Every year nearly 1100 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and nearly 900 die from the disease, the sixth most common cause of cancer death in women.
More than 70 per cent of women are diagnosed at an advanced stage, where the cancer has spread and is difficult to treat successfully.
Ovarian cancer is very difficult to detect in its early stages because of its vague symptoms. There is currently no simple screening test or examination to detect ovarian cancer at an early stage. While advances have been made in survival rates for breast cancer, there have been no recent breakthroughs in ovarian cancer, and survival rates have barely improved.
Symptoms include:
abdominal bloating, abdominal or back pain, appetite loss or feeling full, changes in toilet habits, unexplained weight gain or loss, indigestion or heartburn fatigue.
“Every woman will have experienced one or more of these symptoms at some stage,” said Dr Zorbas. “But if any of these symptoms are unusual for you and they persist, it is important to see your doctor. No one knows your body like you do.”
The National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC) will also launch a new ovarian cancer training module for its General Practitioner Education Series. The ovarian cancer module will support GPs in the investigation of women who present with symptoms that may be ovarian cancer, and all aspects of their diagnosis and care.
HealthInsite has a topic page on Ovarian Cancer.
Created February 26 2008
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