Stomach bloating: The key factor that could suggest ovarian cancer – full symptoms

Diagnosed in the earliest stages, ovarian cancer is 90 percent curable. Yet, the Robin Cancer Trust said almost 60 percent of cases are discovered at a much later stage. Here are the symptoms to look out for. “There is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer,” warned the Robin Cancer Trust. This has resulted in a woman dying every two hours from the disease – that’s 12 women every day.

Persistent

Any of the warning signs that are persistent, meaning they won’t go away, need to be checked out by a medical professional.

Frequent

If the symptoms appear most days, then this too warrants a visit to your doctor.

New

Do pay attention to any symptoms that have begun in the past year – it could be a sign of ovarian cancer.

Unusual

If you’ve never had frequent bouts of bloating before, for example, then it’s best to discuss this symptom with your GP.

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Risk factors

Aside from being a female, you’re more at risk of ovarian cancer if you’re over the age of 50.

A huge 84 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in women over this age.

Furthermore, more than half of cases are diagnosed in people aged over 65.

However, ovarian cancer can affect any female of any age, so it’s key to remember that.

This type of test doesn’t guarantee that you’re most definitely going to develop cancer, it only reveals if you’re at an increased risk.

Speaking of family history, if two or more relatives from the same side of your family had ovarian or breast cancer, you might be at higher risk.

This is because it’s more than likely that you may have inherited a faulty BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

For more information on the BRCA1/2 gene mutation – and who qualifies for testing – please visit the NHS website.