Pap smears do not detect ovarian cancer. There are few effective treatments and a high rate of recurrence.
This year, about 20,000 people will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and more than 12,000 women will die. There is no screening or early detection test for ovarian cancer, and few effective treatments. Ovarian cancer symptoms can be vague and easily attributed to something else.
The most common symptoms are listed above. Visit STAAR Ovarian Cancer’s symptom checker to learn more about them. Follow a two-week rule. If the symptoms have not gone away after two weeks, tell a doctor. Even one symptom is enough to mention, especially if it’s new, or unusual for you, or getting worse.
Most ovarian tumors aren’t found until they have progressed to an advanced stage, which is why this cancer has been labeled a “silent killer.” Help us turn up the volume on the silent killer by raising awareness about the symptoms.
When I was diagnosed with stage 4 low-grade serous ovarian cancer at age 44 in 2020, I looked back and remembered times I had some mild versions of the symptoms listed above. Maybe I could have been diagnosed earlier if it had occurred to me to mention them to a doctor.
Raising awareness about these symptoms is crucial because too many people ignore them, or their doctors fail to take them seriously. Increased awareness can lead to diagnosis at an earlier stage.
MORE ABOUT LOW-GRADE SEROUS OVARIAN CANCER
- LGSC disproportionately affects younger women.
- Studies into treatments are drastically underfunded compared to other cancers.
- It’s the fourth most common type of ovarian cancer.
- It’s hard to treat—the average survival is about 9 years.
- Researchers are working hard to find better treatments and substantially improve the survival of people with low-grade serous carcinoma, but they need your help to fund their life-saving research.
Kari Neumeyer 