According to Cancer Research UK there are 7,500 new cases a year, while there are also 4,182 deaths in the UK from Ovarian cancer (Peter Byrne/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)GPs and women are failing to recognise key symptoms of ovarian cancer, a leading charity has warned.
Despite campaigns to raise awareness of the disease, charity Target Ovarian Cancer, said many are still dying needlessly due to missing the early signs of the disease.
A poll asking 1,000 women, found 79 per did not know bloating was a symptom, while a further 68 per cent were unaware that abdominal pain was a sign, the charity found.
The charity also found 97 per cent did not know feeling full was a potential symptom, while almost all (99 per cent) did not know needing to urinate more urgently could also be a sign.
Annwen Jones, the chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer said: “These figures are incredibly disappointing.
“We know we’ve shifted the dial in the past 10 years through the dedication of thousands of Target Ovarian Cancer’s campaigners, but it is not enough. Knowing the symptoms is crucial for everyone.
“We need to make sustained and large-scale government-backed symptoms campaigns a reality. Progress is possible.
“If we do this, fewer people will be diagnosed late, fewer will need invasive treatment, and, ultimately, fewer will die needlessly from ovarian cancer.”
A further 50 per cent of women incorrectly believed ovarian cancer could be picked up by screening for cervical cancer.
Dr Victoria Barber, a GP in Northamptonshire and advocate for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer, said: “Symptoms do appear early on in ovarian cancer, and your GP wants to hear from you if you’re experiencing any of them, if they are new for you and if they do not go away.
“Similarly, it’s vital that GPs are knowledgable on ovarian cancer and know how to advise patients who have concerns.”
Only 1 in 5 women know bloating is a symptom of #OvarianCancer.
— Target Ovarian Cancer (@TargetOvarian) February 22, 2022
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According to Cancer Research UK there are 7,500 new cases a year, while there are also 4,182 deaths in the UK from Ovarian cancer.
Of all forms of the disease, ovarian cancer accounts to three percent of all UK cancer deaths, while the peak age range for death was between 85-89.
Katy Stephenson, 47, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, was diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer last year.
She said: “I had been experiencing symptoms like bloating and needing to wee more urgently for a few months, but I’d put it down to being peri-menopausal.
“I had a fluke diagnosis when I was admitted to hospital with appendicitis. If that hadn’t happened, the cancer probably would have spread, and I hate to think about what would have happened.”
