September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It is one of the most deadly of women's canceers. An average of 21,980 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The World Health Organization department there are oveer 238,000 new cases diagnosed annually and nearly 152,000 deaths worldwide.

This cancer most commonly occurs in women in their fifties and sixties. Many of these ladies diagnosed will have genetic history with a strong family history of ovarian cancer or the BRCA mutation gene.

It is important to seek quickly and not wait until the disease has begun to spread but if detected at its earlieest stage. Symptoms of ovarian canceer are often subtle and easily confused with other ailments and include:

Other symptoms may include:

• Nausea, indigestion, gas, constipation or diarrhea
• Extreme fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Backaches
• Weight Gain


At current time there is no adequate screening test of ovarian cancer. This is one reason why this cancer is often found in later stages. If any symptoms last longer than 2 to 3 weeks talk to your doctor.