Early Warning Signs and Symptoms

Here are the signs and symptoms you should watch for:

• Abdominal bloating
• Increased abdominal girth (clothes seem tighter)
• Pressure or fullness in the pelvic area
• Change in bowel or bladder patterns
• Urinary urgency
• Unexplained weight loss or gain
• Persistent indigestion
• Pain during intercourse
• Change in menstrual periods (example: heavier than normal)
• Leg pain (this would be caused by a tumor pressing on the sciatic nerve)

Most of these symptoms can be attributed to other causes and are very nonspecific. That's why this disease is known as the silent killer. I had been having symptoms for quite a while and only went to the doctor when I had persistent leg pain, which obviously could be many things and is not usually something to be very concerned about. The fact is, ovarian cancer is normally diagnosed in later stages, 3 and 4. So please, this is very important, be your own advocate and hound your physician to do a CA-125 test if you have any of these symptoms over a prolonged time.

I'd like to mention that I had NO risk factors for this disease. So even if you think you are not at risk, please take this information to heart and be on the lookout for these ovarian cancer symptoms and early warning signs.