Why a Diagnosis Often Comes Late
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Itâs hard to spot ovarian cancer early. The symptoms can mimic other conditions, and thereâs a chance you might not have any. Whatâs more, doctors and gynecologists donât have reliable screening tests to find early signs of the disease. Those are the main reasons why women get diagnosed with ovarian cancer when in itâs stage I or II, before it spreads much, only about 20% of the time.
But you can do things to take charge of your health. Learn which symptoms to be aware of, so you can have your doctor or gynecologist check them. And find out what things put women at high risk for the disease, so you can get preventive treatments if necessary. Hereâs what two doctors who treat gynecologic cancers want you to know about spotting ovarian cancer as early as possible.
Speak Up if You Have Symptoms
Sometimes ovarian cancer doesnât cause any symptoms early on, especially during the first stage of the disease. Thatâs when the cancer is limited to one or both of your ovaries, which store eggs and make the female hormones estrogen and progesterone.
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âThereâs a lot of room in the abdomen for the ovary to growâ when a cancerous tumor forms on it, says Leslie Boyd, MD, director of NYU Langoneâs Division of Gynecologic Oncology. âSo usually stage I ovarian cancer is a fairly silent disease.â
Katherine Kurnit, MD, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Chicago, agrees. In general, she says, women start getting symptoms when the cancer begins to spread, pushing on other structures or invading other parts of the body.
Itâs possible to get symptoms in the early stages of the disease, though. Some of them are:
- Bloating
- Pain in your belly or pelvis
- Feeling full quickly when you eat
- An urgent or frequent need to pee
Talk to your primary care doctor or your gynecologist if you have symptoms like these, especially if theyâre new for you and they donât go away, Kurnit says. Since ovarian cancer can bring on non-specific problems like gastrointestinal or bowel problems, be aware that it commonly gets misdiagnosed as a gastrointestinal or bowel problems, Kurnit and Boyd say.
If you get treatment for one of those conditions and your symptoms stick around for 2 or more weeks, follow up with another doctor or your gynecologist. A pelvic ultrasound is a fast test that can give your gynecologist a lot of information about whatâs going on with you, Boyd says.
Learn What Could Put You at High Risk
A number of things increase your odds of getting ovarian cancer, like growing older. The disease is rare when youâre younger than 40. Itâs much more common when youâre 63 or older. Most of the time it starts after menopause.
Boyd and Kurnit say two key things put you at high risk of getting the disease, though: your close familyâs medical history and certain gene changes, or âmutations.â
If you have a first-degree relative like a sister or mother whoâs had ovarian cancer, your chances of getting the disease go up, Kurnit says. Having a close relative whoâs had breast cancer can also be a risk factor, she says.
Inherited mutations in genes called BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 are tied to a higher risk for ovarian and other cancers, too. The way to find out if you have either mutation is to get your genes tested. You can ask your doctor or gynecologist if genetic testing might be right for you. If so, they may be able to refer you to a genetic counselor.
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âThe preferred way to identify someone at high risk, or with one of these genetic mutations that puts them at higher risk for familial cancers, is to have a consultation with a genetic counselor,â Boyd says. âThey can go through the risks and benefits of obtaining the genetic testing, and then proceed with testing if it makes sense for that patient.â
If you decide to get genetic testing, a counselor can also help explain your results. âItâs sometimes very difficult to understand what having a gene mutation means for a person whoâs not in the medical field or for someone whoâs just not as familiar with that,â Kurnit says.
If you get diagnosed with a mutation to one of your BRCA genes, the counselor can walk you through how it affects your risk for ovarian and other cancers. They can also tell you how best to share the information with any siblings you have, âboth male and female, who would also be at potentially higher risk for cancer syndromes as well,â Kurnit says.
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Direct-to-consumer gene tests are available, too. Boyd says that trying to interpret the results on your own without a counselorâs help could be daunting, though.
If you learn you have a high risk for ovarian cancer, your doctor or gynecologist will keep a close eye on your health and explain what preventive treatments might be right for you, as well as explain the risks and benefits of each.
What to Do if Youâre at Average Risk
Doctors would love to have an accurate screening test to spot ovarian cancer early before it brings on symptoms, but it doesnât exist. Tests like the Pap test for cervical cancer arenât effective at finding signs of early ovarian cancer. For now, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that doctors donât routinely screen women at average risk who donât have symptoms.
Still, Boyd says, âitâs always a good idea to maintain a relationship with your gynecologist throughout life stages. And certainly in the post-menopause, youâre at highest risk of developing the most common gynecologic cancers.â
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Kurnit agrees. âA lot of times women think that after they go through menopause they no longer need to see a gynecologist.â She recommends that you keep getting all your recommended gynecologic care and routine checkups with your regular doctor.
It may give you some piece of mind to know that your overall risk for ovarian cancer is âquite low,â Boyd says. The odds that youâll get it in your lifetime are about 1 in 78, or 1.3%.
If you do get ovarian cancer, treatments are helping people live better and longer than before, she says.
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