Did you know that September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month? You may be more familiar with the pink color used for breast cancer awareness, but teal is the color for ovarian cancer. Each year over 200,000 women worldwide are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 125,000 women die from this disease. In the United States alone, 1 in every 78 women will develop ovarian cancer in her lifetime. I became one of these women when I was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 45.
At the time, little did I realize that there was any issue going on within my body. I was working active duty as a physicist in the Air Force, so I thought that I was healthy, especially since I was always mindful of what I ate and was tested annually for physical fitness and medical readiness. Therefore, getting diagnosed with ovarian cancer seemed to come from out of nowhere. Never in my wildest imagination did I think ever think I would develop ovarian cancer because it did not run in my family. Genetic tests for the BRCA gene and others that I had done had equally come up negative.
Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of hearing the doctor speak the “c” word, for cancer, to me. While ovarian cancer is not as common, for example, as breast cancer, it’s the leading cause of death in women from gynecological cancers and the 5th leading cause of death for women in the United States.
The symptoms for ovarian cancer are often very vague, so most women do not get diagnosed until they are, unfortunately, in the advanced stages of the disease, which makes treatment difficult and increases the mortality rate for these women. So, what are the symptoms? Here’s a brief video that I created in support of the Save Her Life campaign on the symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer
- Bloating or swelling in your abdomen
- Feeling a sense of fullness well before you’ve finished your meal
- Pain or pressure in your abdomen, pelvis, or even your back
- Urgency or increased frequency of urination
- Changes in bowel habits with constipation and/or diarrhea
- Abnormal bleeding with your menstrual cycle
These symptoms could all be signs of ovarian cancer. The challenge for early diagnosis lies in the similarity of symptoms with other conditions that may be completely unrelated to ovarian cancer. If you have any of these symptoms for more than two weeks, or if you are experiencing any of these symptoms for the first time, it would be a good idea to follow up with your doctor.
Regardless of the results from your checkup, I would recommend starting some form of detoxification to improve the functioning of your organs of elimination, such as your bowels, kidneys, and liver. Next, optimizing your nutrition would be important to ensure that you are providing the proper fuel for your cells in order to generate the energy needed for you to function and have enough energy to get through your days. These measures may actually help to slow down, or even reverse, some or all of these symptoms before they evolve into a more serious condition, such as ovarian cancer. And if you are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, a detoxification program combined with optimal nutrition will almost always ensure a better outcome along with the approach you select for your treatment.
Being forewarned about a disease which has such subtle symptoms is critically important. Towards that end, please share this information with as many women as you know to spread awareness of this seemingly “silent,” but deadly disease. Spreading awareness of the signs of this “cancer that whispers” could very well help to improve the chances of survival for yourself or someone you care about!
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