September 2, 2010
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month….. Need I say more??
Probably not, but here goes anyway…..
Teal is the color for Ovarian Cancer –so Portland Firefly has been wearing a lot of teal lately. I make sure to wear it whenever I give my speech.
Here are the symptoms again…
• Ovarian cancer, sometimes called “the silent killer,” is not silent. Symptoms such as bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, feeling of fullness or urinary issues, can be subtle but are usually present early.
• When symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, feeling of fullness, or urinary problems are caused by ovarian cancer, they tend to be persistent, and a change from normal.
The symptoms of Ovarian Cancer will be a change from how you feel normally and will continue over a period of two weeks or more. Some other symptoms may be extreme fatigue, constipation or diarrhea, a feeling of nausea, increase in waist size, back or leg pain, reflux type symptoms. Many women are mis-diagnosed with irritable-bowel syndrome which causes a detrimental delay in treatment.
Most women know that they are sick in a way they have never been sick before. Do not wait. See your gynecologist immediately and ask for a pelvic and rectal exam, a transvaginal ultrasound, and a CA-125 blood test. Some doctors may also order a CT Scan which may show the presence of ascites or fluid in the abdomen.
