Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month aims to alert more women to the dangers of one of the UK’s biggest killers

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, representing a chance to raise awareness of this awful killer and to highlight the inequalities that thousands of women with ovarian cancer face in receiving the best care regardless of age, location or ethnicity.

Ovarian cancer is the biggest gynaecological killer of women in the UK – and the survival rates here are among the worst in Europe. It’s the sixth most common form of cancer death in women, after breast, lung and bowel cancer. Yet the average GP will see only one case of ovarian cancer every five years.

More than 7,500 cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed each year (that’s more than 140 women each week) and the disease claims around 4,000 deaths annually. Shockingly, in the UK just one in three women live more than 10 years after diagnosis.

Worrying statistics which should focus all our minds in Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. With increased awareness encouraging early detection, we can save lives. And there is some positive news. Since the early 1970s, ovarian cancer mortality rates in females have decreased by nearly a quarter in the UK. Let’s help improve this even more.

WHAT IS OVARIAN CANCER?

The ovaries are two small glands that form part of the female reproductive system, which is also made up of the vagina, cervix, uterus (womb) and Fallopian tubes. Ovaries have two main functions: Produce, store, and release eggs for reproduction and produce the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone

Ovarian cancer occurs when there are abnormal cells in the ovary which multiply, creating a tumour. Tumours will either be benign or malignant. Benign tumours are non-cancerous and do not usually spread to other parts of the body. They may require some treatment but are rarely life threatening. If the tumour is malignant, it is cancerous and when left untreated may spread to other parts of the body. Treatment will depend on the type, stage and grade of ovarian cancer diagnosed.

EARLY WARNING

Three-quarters of women are diagnosed once the cancer has already spread, making treatment more difficult. The current five-year survival rate for ovarian cancer is between 35 and 46 per cent. If diagnosed at the earliest stage, up to 90 per cent of women would survive five years or more, while with late-stage diagnosis this drops to around 16 per cent. This is why awareness is so important, to drive forward improvements in diagnosis, treatment and survival.

The two most important aspects affecting a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer during her lifetime are age and family history. The risk of ovarian cancer increases with age, and it’s most common in women over 50, particularly those who have gone through menopause. However, it can also affect younger women.

Most cases of ovarian cancer are ‘sporadic’ or one-offs. This means that close female relatives of someone with ovarian cancer do not necessarily face an increased risk of developing the disease themselves. However, in around one in every 10 cases, a family link can be identified.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Symptoms are frequent (they usually happen more than 12 times a month) and persistent.

There are four main ovarian cancer symptoms:
• Increased abdominal size/persistent bloating (not bloating that comes and goes)
• Difficulty eating or feeling full more quickly
• Needing to pee more frequently or urgently
• Pain around your tummy to the top of your thighs

These can also be symptoms of other, less serious, conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, ovarian cysts and polycystic ovary syndrome so if you’re experiencing them it doesn’t necessarily mean you have ovarian cancer. Other symptoms can include back pain, unexpected weight loss, change in bowel habits and extreme fatigue.
If you regularly experience any of these symptoms, and that’s not normal for you it is important that you see your GP. If you are 50 or over and have symptoms that are new for you which are similar to those of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), your GP should offer you tests to check for ovarian cancer. It is worth noting that unlike cervical, bowel and breast cancers, there is still no reliable, effective screening method for ovarian cancer.