Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Ovarian cancer is the UK’s deadliest gynaecological disease, with more than 7,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It takes the life of a woman every two hours. Sadly, the survival rate is lower in Wales than the rest of the UK.

Ovarian Cancer Action is working hard to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer in Wales. The charity is looking to recruit a number of Voices – volunteers who have experienced the impact of ovarian cancer – to tell their stories and help make some noise about the disease.

Ovarian cancer is an often misunderstood and there are a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding the disease. Some 80% of women cannot name the symptoms of ovarian cancer and many women mistakenly believe that ovarian cancer has no symptoms at all. Another common misconception is that a cervical smear test will detect ovarian cancer, but this is simply not true.

One of the main problems with ovarian cancer is that it is too often diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment is less effective. But, when caught early, prognosis is often much better.

This is why awareness of symptoms is so important.

Symptoms to watch out for are:

• Persistent stomach pain

• Persistent bloating

• Finding it difficult to eat or feeling full quickly

• Needing to wee more often

Other symptoms you may notice include:

• Back pain

• Changes in your bowel habits (diarrhoea or constipation)

• Feeling tired all the time

If you’re experiencing these symptoms regularly (on most days), or you have any concerns, it is important to talk to your GP as soon as possible. To learn more about the symptoms of ovarian cancer please visit Ovarian Cancer Action

Because the symptoms of ovarian cancer can often be mistaken for other illnesses, it can be helpful to keep a symptoms diary to take to your GP. This will help them rule out ovarian cancer. Ovarian Cancer Action has a symptoms diary to help you with this. Either download the app version (search for ‘Ovarian Cancer Action’ in the app store of your phone) or use the paper version available on the charity’s website.

Ovarian Cancer Action strives to make ovarian cancer treatment more effective, and to reduce the number of women who die from the disease.

If you are interested in an awareness talk or becoming an Ovarian Cancer Action Voice then please contact Alicia Roberts (Wales Regional Officer) on 07761511927 or alicia@ovarian.org.uk

If you can help spread awareness of the disease by displaying information leaflets or posters please contact Alicia or request them on the Ovarian Cancer Action website: Order Awareness Materials