Ovarian Cancer Is Very Treatable If Caught Early—Know the Symptoms

Ovarian cancer is very treatable if caught early, but how do women catch something not easily found?

It used to be thought that ovarian cancer had no real noticeable symptoms. But there are certain red flags that doctors say women need to know.

According to Beman R. Khulpateea, M.D., a board-certified, fellowship-trained gynecologic oncologist at The Gynecologic Oncology Center at Mercy, he usually sees women between their late 40s to mid-60s who report symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Dr. Khulpateea listed some of the symptoms women should monitor, as follows:

• Bloating
• Abdominal or pelvic pain
• Changes in bathroom habits
• Back pain
• Appetite changes
• Menstrual changes
• Pain during sex

"One of the ones that's more specific is early satiety. So, feeling full after eating a smaller amount of food, and that's one of those things that it's not a very common thing, but it can be kind of written off to something else," Dr. Khulpateea said. "Sometimes, that goes hand in hand with symptoms of reflux, something that commonly happens when older."

Anyone who has some of the symptoms that are new or persistent should take notes and mention them to their doctor.

View Mercy gynecologic oncologist Dr. Beman Khulpateea’s interview regarding early ovarian cancer symptoms.