Watch out for these symptoms!

Have you had any of the following symptoms daily (or almost daily) for past 2-3 weeks?:

• bloating
• pelvic or abdominal pain,
• difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate.

If so, it is extremely important to see your gynecologist. These are symptoms cancer experts have identified as early symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Does having these symptoms mean you have ovarian cancer?

Not necessarily. However, if found early, your chances of survival increase. "The disease is among the deadlier types of cancer, because most cases are diagnosed late, after the cancer has begun to spread. If the cancer is found and surgically removed early, before it spreads outside the ovary, 93 percent of patients are still alive five years later. Only 19 percent of cases are found that early, and 45 percent of all women with the disease survive at least five years after the diagnosis. By contrast, among women with breast cancer, 89 percent survive five years or more." (New York Times)

"With ovarian cancer, even a few months' delay in making the diagnosis may make a difference in survival, because the tumors can grow and spread quickly through the abdomen to the intestines, liver, diaphragm and other organs."

So what are you waiting for? If you have these symptoms, make an appointment to see your gynecologist. If it turns out to be nothing at all or just something minor (such as irritable bowel syndrome), great!

It's better to be safe than sorry.