Do you know the symptoms of OVARIAN Cancer? Be aware ladies...

Spanish Eyes

I hope this post does not break any rules.

Breast Cancer is the sexy one, it gets all the publicity, there could not be a woman in Ireland who does not know how to self examine, or know the symptoms (lump, puckering etc.) and mammograms detect many of them too.

Now have any of you thought about Ovarian Cancer? Do you know the symptoms? Do you know anyone who has had it and survived?

My younger sister got a sick tummy late in 2008. Doc diagnosed Winter Vomiting Bug. A few days later her tummy got very bloated and didn't go down. She had no other symptoms. Perfectly fit in every way up to this.

She got ill with vomiting, which was severe so her Hub took her to the same doc again. That doctor's care means she is alive today. She did not like the look of the bloated stomach, and sent her straight in to the hospital for tests.

Two days later, she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. The trouble with this one is it is usually diagnosed late. She was in Stage 3 which is not good. Anyway, surgery followed, and then 6 months of chemo. She got the all clear in June last year. What a celebration we had.

In January she went on hols. Was ill on the way back and the cancer has come back. This is not good news, but the oncologists are doing their best to find another chemo regime to tackle the recurrence.

Fingers crossed she will be ok.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer. It is a nasty one, and doesn't get much publicity.

If you get a bloated stomach for a few weeks
If you get an upset stomach for a few weeks
If you get spasms of pain in the back or stomach
If you have trouble with constipation/diarrheoia for a while

Get it checked out.

My sister had 7 litres of fluid drained off. The bloated stomach is the primary indicator that something in the ovaries may not be right.

I wish you all well, and lets fight these women's cancers together.

Thanks for reading ladies.

RacoonQueen

My aunt passed away from breast cancer a year ago(a year today actually) and we've always said how 'lucky' she was that it was breast cancer because you can detect that so easily and get a chance to fight it. Ovarian problems are one of my biggest fears. Wouldn't have had a clue what the symptoms were, it's probably one of those things we should all be aware of.

mood

Thanks for posting. I would never have known.

I really hope she is ok soon.

Acoshla

My grandmother went to the doctor and said she had put on weight on her stomach over the course of a few months, she wasn't happy about it and didn't think it was normal. He told her that she was just getting older (she was 54) and to accept that fat comes with age.

Two months later she came home from work, said she didn't feel good and went straight to the doctor, she was sent into hopsital where they began to drain fluid from her abdomen, this was 25 years ago so the diagnostics took a while. They operated a week later, her entire abdominal cavity was covered in tumours - advanced ovarian cancer.

She never really came around from the surgery and died a week later, 2 weeks before I, her first grandchild, was born.

Definitely don't ignore prolonged bloating, no harm in getting it checked out.

It's so true that breast cancer is the popular one, ovarian and pancreatic cancer are sneaky silent cancers that get to very advanced stages without any symptoms.

chickenpoo

My mum passed away from ovarian cancer about 13 years ago. Again, her main symptom was a bloated tummy, so much so that our neighbours thought she was pregnant and just not telling anyone.

It's definitely one of the scarier cancers, as the symptoms are so non-specific, and you can pass them off as being down to other illnesses. I hope your sister makes a full recovery.

Ruby-J

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I hope this post does not break any rules.

Breast Cancer is the sexy one, it gets all the publicity, there could not be a woman in Ireland who does not know how to self examine, or know the symptoms (lump, puckering etc.) and mammograms detect many of them too.

Now have any of you thought about Ovarian Cancer? Do you know the symptoms? Do you know anyone who has had it and survived?

My younger sister got a sick tummy late in 2008. Doc diagnosed Winter Vomiting Bug. A few days later her tummy got very bloated and didn't go down. She had no other symptoms. Perfectly fit in every way up to this.

She got ill with vomiting, which was severe so her Hub took her to the same doc again. That doctor's care means she is alive today. She did not like the look of the bloated stomach, and sent her straight in to the hospital for tests.

Two days later, she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. The trouble with this one is it is usually diagnosed late. She was in Stage 3 which is not good. Anyway, surgery followed, and then 6 months of chemo. She got the all clear in June last year. What a celebration we had.

In January she went on hols. Was ill on the way back and the cancer has come back. This is not good news, but the oncologists are doing their best to find another chemo regime to tackle the recurrence.

Fingers crossed she will be ok.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer. It is a nasty one, and doesn't get much publicity.

If you get a bloated stomach for a few weeks
If you get an upset stomach for a few weeks
If you get spasms of pain in the back or stomach
If you have trouble with constipation/diarrheoia for a while

Get it checked out.

My sister had 7 litres of fluid drained off. The bloated stomach is the primary indicator that something in the ovaries may not be right.

I wish you all well, and lets fight these women's cancers together.

Thanks for reading ladies.

thanks for letting others know. fingers, toes crossed and heaps of positive thoughts and prayers that all goes ok for your sis.

Danniboo

K this post is freaking me out a bit ive just been with my dietician and discovered i've put on weight though i've been eating healthy and exercising. I have constipation and a bloated stomach quite a bit. A guy asked me the other day if I was expecting.:eek:

Danniboo

Danniboo wrote: »

K this post is freaking me out a bit ive just been with my dietician and discovered i've put on weight though i've been eating healthy and exercising. I have constipation and a bloated stomach quite a bit. A guy asked me the other day if I was expecting.:eek:

The problem with these symptoms is they could virtually be anything. That's why ovarian cancer is hard to diagnose. If it was suspected in every woman who went to the GP with bloating and constipation, the health service would collapse. I've been having severe bloating for the last 10 years. It's bowel/gluten intolerance related. This is much more common than ovarian cancer. I look 6 months pregnant after every meal. As for putting on weight, again, there's billions of causes for that. A common symptom of PCOS is weight gain around the middle. Go and see your GP if you're worried, but those symptoms could be almost anything.

Danniboo

[quote=[Deleted User];65399190]The problem with these symptoms is they could virtually be anything. That's why ovarian cancer is hard to diagnose. If it was suspected in every woman who went to the GP with bloating and constipation, the health service would collapse. I've been having severe bloating for the last 10 years. It's bowel/gluten intolerance related. This is much more common than ovarian cancer. I look 6 months pregnant after every meal. As for putting on weight, again, there's billions of causes for that. A common symptom of PCOS is weight gain around the middle. Go and see your GP if you're worried, but those symptoms could be almost anything.[/QUOTE]


It's probably just my PCOS and IBS, but you can't help being freaked out sometimes when your body goes haywire.

KillerKity

Thanks so much for posting this Spanish Eyes. My mam had all the symptions last year but thankfully she got the all clear. Please god your sister will be ok. She'll be in my prayers xx

Danniboo

Danniboo wrote: »

It's probably just my PCOS and IBS, but you can't help being freaked out sometimes when your body goes haywire.

God I know, I'm really paranoid. But those symptoms are so very vague. You should go to the GP if you're worried but it's not worth panicking about.

Spanish Eyes

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for your lovely kind thoughts. It means a lot, as it is a very difficult and terrifying time for our family, and especially for sis.

Please, please if you get an opportunity, spread the word about Ovarian Cancer. But as another poster said, try not to freak people out either, as the symptoms can mean things like coeliac disease or PCOS too! However, if you have a bloated tummy for a while and all other common things have been ruled out, make sure you get them to check for OC. Not an easy thing to do, it is very scary, but it could save your life.

Again, I really appreciate your comments, and let's spread the word. BTW the Ovarian Cancer colour is teal. This is a most beautiful turqouise colour. So if you see anyone wearing a teal coloured badge or bracelet it is to support research into OC.

I'll keep you updated on sis's treatment if you wish, when I have further news.

All the best ladies.

The Recliner

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for your lovely kind thoughts. It means a lot, as it is a very difficult and terrifying time for our family, and especially for sis.

Please, please if you get an opportunity, spread the word about Ovarian Cancer. But as another poster said, try not to freak people out either, as the symptoms can mean things like coeliac disease or PCOS too! However, if you have a bloated tummy for a while and all other common things have been ruled out, make sure you get them to check for OC. Not an easy thing to do, it is very scary, but it could save your life.

Again, I really appreciate your comments, and let's spread the word. BTW the Ovarian Cancer colour is teal. This is a most beautiful turqouise colour. So if you see anyone wearing a teal coloured badge or bracelet it is to support research into OC.

I'll keep you updated on sis's treatment if you wish, when I have further news.

All the best ladies.

Best of luck to your sister, hopefully she can over come it

My family are lucky, my Mum was diagnosied with Ovarian Cancer and Breast Cancer 3 years ago

It was fouind through her own vigilance, she got herself checked out and pushed and pushed until she got the tests that confirmed it, to be honest it was the breast cancer she was concerned with she assumed the ovarian problems were jsut an infection of some description so it was a bit of a shock

She got really well loked after and after 6 months of treatment she was done, luckily in both cases they were caught early and she didn't require Chemo

Unfortunately 6 months ago she was diagnosed with a different more serious form of breast cancer and a mild form of skin cancer

She is just finishing up her Chemo and it has been tough on her but she is strong woman and will get through anything, honestly I cannot express my admiration for her enough

What I would say Ladies is don't be afraid to get yourselves checked out, being diagnosed with something can be a horrible shock and experience but there is so much they can do about it these days that it should not be feared and the earlier it gets diagnosed the better, with the Ovarian cancer if Mum had left it another month or so before getting herself checked out it might ahve been a different story