20 Early Signs of Ovarian Cancer

Only 20 percent of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in the early stages, according to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, often because symptoms frequently occur alongside less serious problems. As with any cancer, early diagnosis is key to treatment and survival, so being aware of early signs is crucial.

While many women suffer from monthly cramps and pains in the abdominal area, pain shortly before or after periods is frequently present in cases of ovarian cancer. Tell your doctor if period pain is a new experience for you, especially if you're also experiencing any of these other signs.

Another sign you might want to get things checked out are changes in regularity of your periods. Either you're experiencing more frequent periods, they've stopped or the number of days has changed noticeably, you may want to mention it to your doctor.

Ovarian cancer and cysts can also cause irregular bleeding during and between periods.

Just as ovarian issues can cause pain in the pelvis, it can also cause pressure without pain. If you're wondering why it feels a little funny in your lower abdomen, and it hasn't gone away after many days, weeks or months, you should get it checked out.

Women diagnosed with ovarian cysts, masses or tumors, which can be cancerous, often report having had severe pelvic pain, according to the Cancer Centers of America.

Pressure or swelling in the abdominal area is also a frequent symptom, as is a fullness or heaviness in the stomach area.

Abdominal swelling frequently accompanies ovarian cancers. So, if you're feeling bloated or your pants have gotten tighter around the waist, and you don't think it has to do with a change in diet, it's a possible sign that you'll want to have checked out.

Tiring easily, never feeling fully rested or experiencing regular, crushing fatigue may be a clue that something isn't quite right. These are common experiences in women with ovarian cysts and cancer.

The sudden and urgent need to pee, and feeling like you have to with far more frequency than usual for you, are often symptoms women who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer have reported.

Feeling like you have to pee but being unable to do it is a common symptom of ovarian cancer and other issues, like cysts and tumors.

Changes in bowel movements—frequency, their appearance or consistency—is a common symptom, too. If you notice the differences more than 12 times in a month, and they don't go away with change in diet, exercise or over-the-counter medicines, let your doctor know.

Feeling bloated and backed up, and being unable to treat it with laxatives or upping the amount of fiber you're eating, should be brought to your doctor's attention, too.

Women who have suffered ovarian cancer often report severe lower back pain. This occurs when fluid builds up in the pelvis, or when a tumor spreads into the abdomen or pelvis. The issue in the lower back gets irritated and causes untreatable and regular pain.

In addition to pelvic pain and pressure, women may also (or instead) feel a pressure in their lower backs that they can't chalk up to strenuous exercise or bad form when lifting something. The pressure doesn't go away with massage and may be painful at times, as well.

Sometimes the swelling deep inside the pelvis that ovarian cancer can cause also makes pain radiate out toward the thighs. However, thigh pain is one of the later of the early symptom signs.

Early symptoms for ovarian cancer include changes in your appetite. If you find you're filling up faster than usual, you should mention it to your doctor.

Women often report overeating as a symptom before they were diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Any change in appetite, or weight gain and bloat which we may inadvertently attribute to overeating, are common symptoms and should be brought to a doctor's attention.

Ovarian cancer can also cause nausea, in addition to bloating. If you've been dealing with nausea for some time, you may want to stop ignoring it long enough to talk to your doctor about it. Especially if you are experiencing some or all of these other symptoms.

Just as nausea is an early sign of ovarian cancer, so is vomiting. With tumors or cysts, pressure on the stomach, hormonal swings and abdominal obstruction can cause women to feel woozy and also vomit.

Ovarian cancer can cause sexual intercourse to be painful for many women, as the swelling in and the pelvis become irritated with contact. If painful sex is new to you and inexplicable, be sure to talk to your doctor.