Ovarian cancer is often called “The Silent Killer” because the symptoms are so nonspecific and are often blamed on something else. Thus it is possible to have been experiencing early warning signs of this disease for years and not realize anything is seriously wrong. This is very understandable, as the symptoms, if they are seen at all, most often seem benign at first. However, if you have had one or more of these symptoms for several weeks or months, please consider calling your physician and scheduling a check-up. Cancer is a scary word and most people would prefer to just assume everything is fine and hope whatever is bothering them simply “goes away.” However, consider that ovarian cancer statistics show that 70% to 80% of diagnoses are made in late stages when the prognosis is not so good. To give yourself the best chance at long-term survival and even a complete cure, these are 7 of the symptoms to watch out for:1. Persistent indigestion.2. Bloating, feeling of fullness, tightness of clothes.3. Painful intercourse, or dyspareunia.4. Pelvic discomfort or pain.5. Unexplained weight loss or weight gain.6. Leg pain.7. Change in character of menstrual periods.Clearly, some or even most of these symptoms are common enough and could be problematic for women on occasion and most of the time it really is just overindulgence at the local Mexican eatery, too much Turkey dinner, that time of the month, or a strained leg muscle. However, if you experience any of these symptoms consistently on a regular basis it is possible they could be early warning signs of ovarian cancer so have your doctor check you out for peace of mind. Remember, your best chance is an early diagnosis.

I had never given a thought to ovarian cancer, and why would I? When it comes to gynecological cancers you hear about breast cancer all the time, uterine cancer, and cervical cancer when you go for your annual Pap smear, but you never hear much at all about ovarian cancer. I think it’s getting a little more noticed these days but several years ago I really didn’t give it a thought. I’m sure I probably heard the words before at some point but until I was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian cancer I was pretty ignorant of signs and symptoms and had no idea what to look for. Not to mention I was a very healthy person - rarely even got the flu or colds - and the last thing I expected to hear from my doctor was the dreaded word, “cancer.” As it turned out, I had probably been having early warning signs for some time, possibly years, but I attributed them all as just regular old signs of getting a little older (but not that old! I was only 43) and entering that time in life where different things start to bother you or basically fall apart, kind of like a car that is reaching the end of your warranty. You know how that goes, your warranty runs out and you’re in the repair shop every other week.So I had been having very typical symptoms and had no idea, symptoms such as indigestion (never had that before), bloating, change in menstrual periods (heavier), and some pelvic pain shortly after my periods. The pelvic discomfort/painIt was really a strange symptom I thought because it wasn’t right along with that time of the month but several days after. But then it would go away and I would just figure, you know, getting older, et cetera.But then I started having this annoying leg pain. It was sort of a radiating pain, so I figured it must be something to do with a nerve. I have a little medical knowledge so I thought, could it be some sort of back issue like sciatica? No, I didn’t think so, because it didn’t follow the usual M.O. for that type of nerve pain. Instead of being alleviated by rest it was alleviated by getting up and walking. Maybe a muscle strain? How about fibroids? Yes, that was it, I decided, fibroids. I went online and researched all the symptoms and everything added up! A huge fibroid must be pressing on my sciatic nerve and causing this intolerably aggravating leg pain. I made an appointment with my gynecologist and she agreed, yes, that must be it. Whew, great, nothing that serious to worry about. My gynecologist sent me for an ultrasound where a large mass was seen, so I was immediately sent to a gynecologic oncologist. This was extremely scary but I was reassured by hearing this is the best person for any type of GYN problems (not only cancer but anything abnormal) that are out of the norm because these doctors are very specialized. However, it is very scary to be sitting in the oncologist’s office wondering if you may have cancer. You look around the waiting room and see all the obvious chemotherapy patients, and it’s quite overwhelming. As soon as I had my exam, my doctor scheduled surgery, and soon! My surgery was done six days later and the diagnoses was stage 2 ovarian cancer. I was then scheduled to begin chemotherapy. I did not want to hear this! All I could think of was losing my hair. In the grand scheme of things this is such a small thing, but believe me, when you are faced this it just seems so awful and dreadful.But there was good news hidden inside all of the bad, and that was that I only had stage 2 ovarian cancer and not a later stage which is most often diagnosed (due to the fact that no one realizes they are having any symptoms to be worried about). It is only a very very tiny percentage of diagnoses that are made at stage 1 or 2. The majority of all ovarian cancer diagnoses are made at stage 3 or 4. These later stages are a lot different in terms of prognosis (but not hopeless! there is always hope). I am happy to say I made it through it all and am now cancer free. I do believe though that if I had not had the leg pain I would not have gone to the doctor anytime soon, probably not for quite some time (I really dislike going to the doctor and always put it off), as my symptoms were just so nonspecific and seemingly very benign, and my disease may have gone unnoticed and kept growing to stage III or IV. So please heed your body’s communication with you and if you have anything going on that seems really out of the ordinary for you, even if it is ordinary for others, any early warning signs whatsoever, have it checked out by a doctor. It could make a huge difference in your ultimate diagnosis.

Ovarian cancer most often presents in stage III, comprising more than 50% of all cases. Briefly, a stage 3 diagnosis means that cancer is found in one or both ovaries and has spread to other parts of the abdomen. This is a serious challenge for anyone to endure, but although it may seem initially overwhelming, I am writing this article as a measure of hope for those who are going through this right now.Ten years ago a woman I knew, let’s call her “Lisa,” was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. She had no risk factors of the disease, was diligent about going for her annual gynecological exams and checkups, and she never missed her yearly mammogram. Unfortunately, she was not aware of the early warning signs she was experiencing including indigestion, bloating, pelvic discomfort and pain, and a change in her menstrual periods. Had she realized these were signs and symptoms she should be on the lookout for, she would have seen a doctor earlier and it might have been the difference in stage 1 and stage 3. But she didn’t know the symptoms to look for.Once finally diagnosed, she underwent surgery with removal of a large tumor, and then 6 sessions of chemotherapy over a period of 15 weeks. During this time she listened to her doctor’s prognosis (not great) and researched the disease, discovering the 5-year survival rate was somewhere around 20%. But she was a strong woman and she was determined to watch her 3 children grow up, finish college, have careers, and raise a family themselves. She was determined to beat this disease. She changed a few things in her life, exercising at least once a day, drinking more water, and eating healthier. Of course she had to go for checkups every few months for the first couple of years, and then every 6 months thereafter.Just a few months ago, Lisa had the most amazing news. She went for her regular checkup at her oncologist’s office and she was told that since she has been with no evidence of disease (known as NED) for 10 years she is now considered cured and she was discharged from the oncologist’s care.If you have been diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer, don’t even read the statistics because you are not a number. Especially in this day and time, it is so easy to find negative information on the Internet. I will tell you that I believe the reason for this is people go on the ‘net with their problems and rarely go to talk about things that are going great in their life. This is why I wanted to share this with everyone. Take heart from Lisa’s story and know that a cure is possible for anyone, regardless of what the numbers say.