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Ovarian Cancer Symptoms, Early Warning Signs, and Risk Factors
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MDMedical Editor: Dennis Lee, MDto tIntroduction text he patients story. This is her story... -->
Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer in women in the U.S. with over 25,000 women newly diagnosed each year with this disease. It is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women and frequently does not result in symptoms until the cancer has spread extensively. Less than one-third of ovarian cancers are detected before they have spread outside of the ovaries.
Ovarian cancer actually represents a group of different tumors that arise from diverse types of tissue contained within the ovary. The most common type of ovarian cancer arises from the epithelial cells (the outside layer of cells ) of the surface of the ovary. Other, rare types of ovarian cancer develop from the egg-forming germ cells or from the supporting tissue (stroma) of the organ. Benign (non-cancerous) tumors and cysts are also found in the ovary and are much more common than ovarian cancers.
The majority of ovarian cancers are diagnosed late, after the cancers have spread. Only about 20% of women are diagnosed early, when the disease may be curable. There is no definitive screening test for early ovarian cancer. Regular pelvic examinations, sometimes supplemented by ultrasound examinations or blood tests for cancer-related markers, have been routinely used for ovarian cancer screening, but none of these tests are specifically able to detect ovarian cancer. Traditionally, it was believed that ovarian cancer does not produce any characteristic symptoms until the tumor is widespread, and that early symptoms of ovarian cancer were not recognizable.
However, in June 2007, the American Cancer Society, along with other medical societies including the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, released a consensus statement about possible early symptoms of ovarian cancer. This statement was based on research suggesting that some of the early symptoms of ovarian cancer can, in fact, be recognized. In particular, possible early ovarian cancer symptoms include the following:
Bloating
Pelvic or abdominal pain
Urgent or frequent urination
Difficulty eating or feeling full very quickly
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