What are ovarian cancer symptoms and signs?

(Image credit © to ‘Shutterstock’)

Early diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OC) is very helpful for the successful of the treatment and prognosis of patient. Unfortunately, this disease typically doesn’t cause any symptoms or signs at early stage. This is the reason of why there are many cases of OC that diagnosed at later stages. You might also like to know more about the types, stages, and survival rate (prognosis) of ovarian cancer in here, before continuing!

For women who are at very high risk of developing OC (such as having family history of OC and an inherited gene mutation), they are much recommended to take some appropriately preventive steps to reduce their risk. These preventive steps may include; a routine screening test, taking birth control pills, and even removing the ovaries (particularly for individuals who are not in the childbearing age).

Common issues associated with ovaries

As well we know that ovaries are one of crucial parts of female reproductive system. They are not only significantly important to produce eggs in women of childbearing age, but also important to make female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). 

Therefore, it’s reasonable that there is closely correlation between a woman’s fertility and ovaries. In other words, if there is something wrong with the ovaries then this may significantly affect the fertility of a woman. Without a healthy egg released from ovaries, the chance of fertilization for pregnancy is very small. 

As you get older, the production of estrogen and progesterone will decrease gradually. Because when you get close to your menopause, your ovaries produce less & less of these hormones and your menstrual cycles eventually stop. You might also like to know more about early signs of menopause!

Ovarian cancer is not a single health issue that often associated with ovaries. There are also other health problems that can affect ovaries -- one of them is ovarian cysts. Fortunately most of these cysts can go away naturally (without treatment).

Nevertheless, sometimes ovarian cysts can be painful or generate other discomfort /severe symptoms, and even these cysts may also persists longer than should be. For these cases, the appropriately treatment is usually needed to cure these cysts. 

What are the exact causes of ovarian cancer (how do you get it)?

In general, healthy cells are naturally created by the body and multiply at a set rate which then eventually will disappear /be dead at set time. But for cells of cancer, they can multiply and grow out of control, and also will not die!

The cells of cancer usually begin to occur when the healthy cells are changed by a genetic mutation to be abnormal cells. The multiplication of these abnormal cells will be accumulated to form mass what we call as ‘tumor’.

Unfortunately, the exact cause of ovarian cancer is still not known. But many experts believe that there are some factors that may increase the risk of developing the disease.

Are you at risk? What are risk factors of ovarian cancer?

There are several conditions or factors that may contribute to put you at higher risk of developing the disease.

Inheriting gene changes (a family history of ovarian cancer)

Some women with a family history of cancer may get inherited gene changes (such as BRCA gene changes), which then may contribute to increase their risk of developing ovarian cancer -- according to a published article on WebMD. 

Experts believe that having a family history of ovarian cancer or even breast cancer can increase the risk, particularly for individuals who have a very close family member (like mother, daughter, or sister) who has had ovarian cancer /breast cancer.

In fact, about 10 percent of OC cases may be caused /triggered by an inherited faulty gene -- according to the UK Cancer Research. If you have a very close relative who have had OC, and your sister /daughter /mother were under 50 years old when her cancer were diagnosed, this may be a sign that her cancer occurs because of an inherited faulty gene.

However, you should clearly understand that having a family history of OC doesn’t mean that you will definitely have a faulty inherited gene to cause OC -- but ‘Yes’ your risk is higher than others without a family history.

Breast cancer

Sometimes, both OC and breast cancer may occur due to the same faulty genes. Women who have had breast cancer are more likely to also have ovarian cancer, particularly when they were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40. You might also like to read the previous post about top myths of breast cancer!

Having ovarian cysts and endometriosis

A Swedish study found that patients (younger than 29 years old) who were admitted to hospital for ovarian cysts had higher risk of OC later in life.

Sometimes, ovary /both ovaries are needed to be removed in surgery to cure the ovarian cysts, and this condition also may increase the risk of OC (fortunately the risk is very small for this case, even sometimes doctors choose the ovary removal option to reduce the risk of patients who are at very high risk of having ovarian cancer). Read also about “Can ovarian cysts be cancerous?”!

In the same study, patients with endometriosis were also believed at higher risk than others without endometriosis to have OC.

Never having been pregnant!

In older research, taking certain fertility treatments may also cause an increased risk of OC. But some recent studies cannot clearly find this correlation. Nevertheless many experts still believe that the infertility itself is more likely to increase the risk of OC.

What are other risk factors?

The following are other conditions that may also increase your risk of developing OC:

1. Age! In fact, though OC can occur at any age but it is more likely to develop after menopause.
2. Using IUD (intra uterine device)! A study found that individuals who choose to use IUD for their birth control may have an increased risk of OC. However, more studies are required to find a clearly answer for this issue!
3. Taking hormone replacement therapy! There are several different types of this therapy, and each type is believed has a slightly different level of cancer risk.
4. Being overweight (especially for women with postmenopausal).
5. Talcum powder, particularly when using it between your legs. There is chance for the powder cloud to travel to the genital area which then may also travel up to the fallopian tubes and ovaries, and then may cause irritation in the ovaries. A constant irritation may be potential to create inflammation which then may lead to cancerous changes in the cells of ovary.
6. Poor diet! Some studies found that a diet high in saturated fat may also increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Even a very high intake of lactose may also cause an increased risk.
7. Bad lifestyles, particularly like cigarette smoking!

So, what are the signs and symptoms for ovarian cancer?

It’s not easy to notice the ovarian cancer symptoms, because they are often vague (particularly at early stage). Furthermore, some of these symptoms also can be generated by other health conditions. Therefore if you in doubt to your condition, don’t jump directly to your own conclusion! See a doctor for clearly diagnosis!

The following are pieces of helpful information about OC symptoms according to the UK Cancer Research.

Early signs of ovarian cancer

When the cells of cancer are still completely inside the patient’s ovary or often classified into stage I, the disease usually don’t cause any symptom. But sometimes some signs may occur, though they are usually very vague. 

If the symptoms in the very early stage do occur, they may include:

1. Frequent bloating. 
2. You may also have full feeling in the abdomen (feeling full quickly or trouble eating). You might also like to know more about types of eating disorders.
3. Abdomen pain, particularly in the side /lower abdomen. You may also feel pain in the pelvis.

In addition, according the HealthWise Organization, the following is usually a pattern of the early ovarian cancer signs:

1. They are usually present almost every day.
2. These signs start suddenly.
3. And they feel different than your normal menstrual /normal digestive problems.

Symptoms for ovarian cancer when it has grown outside the patient’s ovary

If the cells of cancer have grown outside the ovary, the signs that may occur include:

1. Loss of appetite or feeling full quickly.
2. Pain during intercourse. You may also have pain in the lower abdomen.
3. Problems associated with urinating, particularly such as frequent urinating (more often than usual).
4. You may also feel constipation and back pain.
5. A swollen abdomen.
6. Irregular periods or even extremely irregular periods.
7. Unusual vaginal bleeding (particularly like bleeding after menopause).

How about when the cancer has spread to another organ?

This condition is usually classified into stage IV (the most advanced stage) -- and the symptoms and signs that may occur include; tiredness, feeling /being sick, abdomen swelling (noticeable swelling), shortness of breath, constipation, and feeling full quickly /loss of appetite.

*** Talk more with a doctor for more detailed information!