AN EVERY day symptom that plagues millions could in fact be cancer.
Bloating is the most common sign of ovarian cancer – but most women have no idea.
New research shows that four out of five (79 per cent) women did not know bloating was a possible sign of a tumour.
Around 7,500 women in the UK are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year.
Many cases could be picked up earlier if women knew the vital signs, experts say.
Bloating has dozens of causes, and more often than not, it won’t be cancer.
Eating too many processed or heavy wheat-based foods, sugar, dairy, stress, alcohol or a condition such as IBS can cause bloating.
These may be masking cases of ovarian cancer.
Women may wrongly assume their cancerous bloat is middle-aged spread or the menopause.
Target Ovarian Cancer, which was behind the survey, warned symptoms like bloating could be cancer if they occur 12 times in one month.
Katy Stephenson, from Bury St Edmunds, was diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer in 2021 by fluke, despite suffering bloating for months.
The 47-year-old 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.
“I was actually told that I wouldn’t have symptoms in the early stages of ovarian cancer – but I did.”
Other warning signs
The survey by Target Ovarian Cancer found at least two thirds of women don’t know tell-tale symptoms of the disease.
Two thirds (68 per cent) did not know pain in the abdomen is a sign.
Another 97 per cent were unaware that always feeling full was a red flag.
And 99 per cent would not think needing to wee more often could be the disease.
Occassionally there can be other symptoms, such as diarrhoea or constipation, extreme fatigue and unexplained weight loss.
The symptoms are usually new, persistent, and frequent (more than 12 times per month).
The survey also found a growing number of women – 40 per cent compared to 31 per cent in 2016 – wrongly believe cervical smear tests check for the illness, but they actually look for cervical cancer.
Target Ovarian Cancer said GPs are not referring patients early enough because symptoms are too vague or similar to stomach troubles.
It warned women are “being failed by an awareness crisis”.
Chief executive Annwen Jones said: “Knowing the symptoms is crucial for everyone.
“We need to make large government-backed symptoms campaigns a reality.
“If we do this, fewer people will be diagnosed late, fewer will need invasive treatment, and ultimately, fewer will die needlessly from ovarian cancer.”
