Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
What is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month?
Every March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and is a chance to put ovarian cancer in the spotlight.
Symptoms awareness saves lives – so let’s shout about them together
Ovarian cancer starts from the cells in and around the ovary. There are many different types of ovarian tumours. The different types of ovarian cancer are named after the types of cells that they come from.
What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?
- persistent bloating (not bloating that comes and goes)
- feeling full quickly and/or loss of appetite
- pain in your tummy or pelvis (the area between your hip bones)
- needing to wee more urgently or more often than usual.
Sometimes there can be other symptoms:
- changes in bowel habits (diarrhoea or constipation)
- fatigue (feeling very tired)
- losing weight without trying.
Any unusual bleeding from the vagina before or any bleeding from the vagina after the menopause should always be investigated by a GP.
Symptoms will be:
- new – they're not normal for you
- frequent – they usually happen more than 12 times a month, or 3 times a week
- persistent – they don't go away.
More support
Keep a symptoms diary to track the frequency of your symptoms. Download or order a symptoms diary for free.
Take a look at Target Ovarian Cancer top tips for speaking to your GP.
Download Target Ovarian Cancer symptoms leaflet [PDF] to find out more (also available in other languages).
