Get clued up on ovarian cancer killer

Cervical cancer is a worry for UK women, but we go along to our smear tests hopeful that possible problems will be detected.

Worryingly though, cervical cancer though potentially fatal, is not the biggest cancer killer of women.

In the run up to the March Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, the charity Target Ovarian Cancer is aiming to raise more awareness amongst women about the cancer.

Around 6,800 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, with 4,000 dying from the disease.

According to Cancer Research UK’s statistics, four times as many women die from Ovarian cancer than cervical cancer and there is only a 30 per cent survival rate.

Now, Target Ovarian Cancer, is launching its new Unzipped Campaign, fronted by TV personality Gaby Roslin.

Catching the symptoms early is the key to survival as once the diagnosis is made when the cancer has spread, around 85 per cent of women will die.

For many women, their GPs frequently did not suggest their symptoms to be cancer with common diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome and urinary infections made instead.

Symptoms include, a swollen tummy, feeling bloated and unable to eat.

Chief Executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, Annwen Jones said: “There is, as yet, no proven screening test for ovarian cancer, but research has identified the most common symptoms and shown that they occur very frequently – almost daily. Our research tells us that 98% of women do have symptoms, including those diagnosed at an early stage, but we also know that most women are just not aware that what they are feeling could signal ovarian cancer. We hope our Unzipped Campaign will help expose ovarian cancer and encourage more women to seek medical advice if they experience persistent symptoms.”

For more information about the disease, visit: www.targetovarian.org.uk