symptoms for ovarian cancer - Should a women pay attention to bloating and pain?

Hi, The symptoms are generally associated with the abdomen. Most common would be a vague discomfort, the sensation of feeling bloated (unfortunately these are pretty non-specific for the ovary), and abnormal vaginal bleeding. When these become present though, the disease may have progressed to a stage that has a small chance for cure. Early detection for ovarian cancer is still under development. The current thinking is doing multiple tests, which would involve a regular examination by a gynecologist, a blood test (CA-125), and transvaginal ultrasound. The problem though, is that it is known that doing only 1 is not successful. Hence, there isn’t a clear strategy. In the UK, a trial is ongoing wherein the blood test is done, and when it is abnormal – the ultrasound is done. There are also other blood tests undergoing evaluation that may improve on CA-125. About 10% of cases have a family history of cancer. Check your family tree (do not add cases from paternal and maternal relatives) for cases of breast, ovary (and whether or not they are present in both breasts, both ovary and breast in 1 patient), and colon cancers. Ashkenazi Jews have a known high-risk profile as well. If you are high-risk, inquire about the availability of genetic testing. The first step would be to assess your baseline risk, based on your family history, number of pregnancies, history of breast feeding or oral contraception (these would lower the risk, contraception may increase risk for other diseases though). You could check out http://www.yourdiseaserisk.siteman.wustl.edu/hccpquiz.pl?lang=english&func=start&quiz=ovarian (of course this questionnaire cannot replace the gynecologist’s examination. If you are high-risk, then you may consider the screening. An annual blood test followed by an ultrasound may help reduce costs. If you are not high-risk, regular visits to your gynecologist would be recommended and further tests based on the examination.

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