Q. What are the earliest symptoms with ovarian cancer you can recall?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Ovarian cancer is one of the most challenging and complex types of cancer to diagnose, largely because its symptoms can be hard to identify in the early stages. Many people won't show any signs or symptoms until the disease has advanced significantly and tumors have grown larger.
Early symptoms associated with ovarian cancer include abdominal bloating, pelvic pain or pressure, feeling full quickly when eating, needing to urinate often or urgently, constipation, fatigue, indigestion, back pain or leg pain caused by a tumor pressing on nerves in these areas. Women may also experience irregular periods—either unusually heavy menstrual flow combined with long cycles (lasting longer than 35 days) or overly light periods combined with short cycles (less than 21 days). Changes in bowel habits such as constipation that do not improve after taking laxatives are also a possible sign of this type of cancer. In addition to physical signs and symptoms related directly to ovarian cancer itself, certain complications can arise from treatment procedures like chemotherapy which might alert patients and doctors to take action if they appear suddenly — weight gain/loss without changes in diet; nausea/vomiting; fever; severe shoulder tip pain due to ascites buildup; digestive difficulties like difficulty swallowing food; change in vision including blurry vision and decreased night vision.
It's important that women pay attention to their bodies and visit a doctor promptly if any concerning changes occur so that ovarian cancer can be detected as soon as possible for improved outcomes.