Something women themselves can do: Avoiding ovarian cancer misdiagnosis

The mother of a friend died years ago from ovarian cancer, so the good news to be formally announced on June 25 about its early detection hits close to home.

Dr. Barbara Goff and her colleagues found that one-third of women with ovarian cancer had initially received a misdiagnosis, e.g., of depression, menopause, irritable bowel syndrome, or "growing old." She said, "12% were told there was nothing wrong with them, and it was all in their heads."

“There are so many horror stories of doctors who have told women to ignore these symptoms or have even belittled them on top of that,” said a co-author, Dr. Debbie Saslow.

Ovarian cancer can grow and spread quickly, so even a few months’ head start in getting the diagnosis can be vital.

"This is something that women themselves can do," said Dr. Carol Brown of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, "and we can familiarize clinicians with, to help make the diagnosis earlier."

Advice to women: If over the last 2 - 3 weeks you have experienced near-daily bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate, see a gynecologist, especially if this is new and different from your normal state of health.

Please help us spread the upcoming announcement by the Gynecological Cancer Foundation, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, and the American Cancer Society, by forwarding this to your friends.

Read another of our delayed diagnosis stories, or read Denise Grady’s source story in today’s New York Times.