Bloating in Women Could Be Symptom of Ovarian Cancer

Bloating is among the list of ovarian cancer symptoms. It is also the most common sign frequently detected from the patients upon diagnosis. However, only a few of the global population is aware of this condition.

Ovarian Cancer and Bloating

(Photo: Annushka Ahuja from Pexels)

A new study reveals that four out of five women, or about 79 percent of the surveyed population, do not know that bloating could be a potential predictor of ovarian cancer.

Each year, at least 7,500 women are detected with ovarian cancer in the United Kingdom alone.

According to the experts, the cases might have been diagnosed earlier if most of them knew what the vital signs of this specific cancer were.

Bloating, one of the most common symptoms of ovarian cancer can be initiated through many conditions. Persistent bloating is an early sign that usually results in the severity of the said cancer.

Bloating is induced by excessive eating of dairy, sugar, heavy wheat foods, and other processed foods. Intense alcohol intake, stress, and even irritable bowel syndrome or IBS could also play a part in the development of bloating.

Many people could be affected by bloating. The case is frequently overlooked in women due to its prevalence across a large population. With that said, many of them believe that the cancer symptom is just a type of side-effect in women in the middle-age group or even of menopausal stage.

Based on the study presented by the specialists from Target Ovarian Cancer, medical attention should be required if bloating occurs in the system by 12 times in a single month. This is because the same rate of bloat in just a short amount of time is heavily linked to ovarian cancer development.

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Other Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

In 2021, a 47-year-old patient from Bury St. Edmunds named Katy Stephenson was detected with an early stage of ovarian cancer coincidentally. The patient experienced bloating for months prior to the diagnosis.

Stephenson said she had been experiencing signs of cancer such as bloating and frequent urination for months but decided that it was only the impact of being in a pre-menopausal stage. The diagnosis came after being admitted to a hospital for appendicitis, reports The Sun.

The patient explained that it had been a different outcome if the early signs had been observed earlier. Stephenson knew that she would not be inflicted with ovarian cancer, but she did.

The Target Ovarian Cancer revealed that 68 percent of the women had no idea that abdominal pain is a sign of the disease. A separate 97 percent did not know that the consistent feeling of being full is a red flag. The remaining 99 percent are unaware that the frequent need to urinate is also a symptom.

Other symptoms of ovarian cancer include diarrhea, extreme fatigue, constipation, and even unexplained weight. The condition's early, frequent, and persistent symptoms could manifest more than 12 times in just one month.

The research found that women who wrongly believe that ovarian cancer can be detected from smear tests (cervical cancer) jumped to 40 percent from the 31 percent recorded back in 2016.