Dr Oz: Ovarian Cancer Symptoms & Warning Signs

Dr Oz Ovarian Cancer Warning Signs

Dr Oz did a show called Silent Cancer Killer of Women because Ovarian Cancer far too often goes misdiagnosed.  Doctor Oz was joined by Dr Barbara Goff and Dr Donnica Moore to go over four early Ovarian Cancer Warning Signs and Symptoms, plus five great ways to aid your body in Ovarian Cancer Prevention.  Ovarian Cancer is one of the deadliest and quickest spreading forms of Cancer, and you have to listen to your own body to catch it early.  Dr Oz said that Ovarian Cancer is one of the cancers that he fears the most, but early detection can mean the difference between life and death.  You have a 90% chance of surviving Ovarian Cacner if you catch it early, but unfortunately, most women do not catch it until it is too late and then they only have an 11% chance of survival.

Dr Barbara Goff said that so many women and even doctors do not understand early warning signs of Ovarian Cancer.  A study looked at 1,700 women with Ovarian Cancer and found that 15% of them were told they had Irritable Bowel Disease, 12% were told they have too much stress, and 6% were told that they have depression.  30% of these women were treated with a prescription medication for something else before they were correctly diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.  It is crucial that we pass on this list of Ovarian Cancer Symptoms and Warning Signs to as many people as we possibly can, so please send a link to this article to all of your friends and family members!  Together we can help to save lives!

Dr Oz: Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

Here are the four Ovarian Cancer Warning Signs to look for:

Bloating & Increased Abdominal Size

One of Dr Oz’s Ovarian Cancer Survivors said that her middle was increasing little by little, even though it seemed like she was losing weight.  She thought it was just the onset of Menopause until she saw an episode of the Dr Oz Show (click here for the recap of that show: Dr Oz Ovarian Cancer Symptoms).  She said that watching the Doctor Oz Show is what saved her life.

Dr Oz showed an animation of a woman’s uterus and ovaries, and if you get Ovarian Cancer, the tumor develops in the Ovaries and these Cancer Cells secrete chemicals that go out into the intestines.  Gas is formed and essentially puts your colon “to sleep,” so the gas gets stuck in your intestines and you get bloated.  Bloating should never last more than a couple of weeks, so Dr Barbara Goff said that if you have bloating (especially if it is every day or every other day), then you should see your doctor.

Difficulty Eating or Feeling Full Quickly

Dr Oz’s second Ovarian Cancer Survivor said that she would get hungry, but then after eating just one or two bites she would feel incredibly full so she could not eat anymore.  Then a little bit later she would be extremely hungry again, but would still only be able to eat another bite or two.  Her doctor told her that it might be a milk allergy, but after her mother saw the Dr Oz Show, she told her daughter to go get checked for Ovarian Cancer.

Unfortunately, doctors do not listen to us as well as our mother’s do most of the time, which is why it is so important to be our own health advocates for each other.  Doctor Oz said that normally, when you eat food it goes in one end of your GI Tract and comes out the other end.  But if you have Ovarian Cancer, it can cause paralysis so the food gets stuck in your GI Tract.  When this happens, the food does not get digested so you feel hungry, but you also feel very full because the food can not pass through.

Dr Oz asked Dr Barbara Goff how we can get doctors to listen to us.  She said that nobody knows your body better than you do.  If you have a concern, talk to your doctor, and if you do not like the response that you get, then go for a second opinion.  If you are concerned and your doctor is not, then ask your doctor to prove to you that you don’t have Ovarian Cancer by asking “Why isn’t Ovarian Cancer my diagnosis?”

Pelvic or Abdominal Pain

Dr Oz’s third Ovarian Cancer Survivor said that she had pain her abdomen that started off as a dull and constant pain, which her doctor said was Acid Reflux Disease.  So he told her to take an Over-The-Counter Acid Reducer.  At the same time, her abdomen was getting bigger and bigger and her mom mentioned that it might be Ovarian Cancer, but she thought there was no way that a 24 year old girl would get that.

Doctor Oz asked her when she realized that it could not be Acid Reflux.  She said that she modified her diet for the Acid Reflux diagnosis, but the pain kept coming back to the point where it was unbearable, at which point the doctor put her on prescription antacids.  But the pain kept getting increasingly worse.  Cancer is an abnormal cell growth, and they spread and invade local tissues and travel to foreign tissues that can invade nerves.  This is why some women with Ovarian Cancer experience pain in their lower abdomen, pelvic area, back or even in their legs.  Dr Oz showed how the ovaries are normally positioned between nerves in the pelvic area, but when they start to grow from Cancer, they start to push on nerves.  And depending which nerve gets pushed on, the pain will be in a different location in your body.

Frequent Or Urgent Need To Urinate

Dr Oz’s fourth Ovarian Cancer Survivor said that she had to go to the bathroom all the time, even just minutes after she went.  Her doctor told her that she had Kidney Stones, but she kept going back because she was not getting better.  Every time she went back, her doctor insisted nothing was wrong and sent her home.  Finally, when they discovered that she had Ovarian Cancer, the tumor was the size of a cantaloupe!

Doctor Oz said that normally you have two small ovaries, but when they get replaced by something much larger from Ovarian Cancer, then you get an increase in pressure on your bladder that makes you feel like its always full and like you have to go to the bathroom.  Luckily, this Ovarian Cancer Survivor feel wonderful today and was able to have two kids after she became Cancer-Free.

Dr Oz: Ovarian Cancer Symptom Diary

Dr Oz said that it is crucial to track your Ovarian Cancer Symptoms for a week in an Ovarian Cancer Symptom Diary (like this one).  That way you can be armed with answers to all of your doctors questions when you go for a visit.

Dr Oz: Ovarian Cancer Tests

Dr Barbara Goff told Dr Oz that the following are a list of Ovarian Cancer Tests that you should ask for, particularly when you go to visit your Obgyn with a concern about having Ovarian Cancer:

– Vaginal-Rectal Pelvic Exam

– Transvaginal Ultrasound

– CA-125 Blood Test, which tests for a tumor marker that is shed when you have Ovarian Cancer

Dr Goff told Dr Oz that you have about a 90% chance of getting a correct Ovarian Cancer diagnosis from having all of these tests done.