Physicians sometimes call ovarian cancer the “silent killer” because it often presents with symptoms that don’t seem to be related to the ovaries. The most common symptoms include abdominal distention, abdominal pain, and increased urinary frequency. Now, British researchers have published in the British Medical Journal the results of a study that demonstrates more symptoms that they say are associated with this disease, some of which can present months prior to a diagnosis is made. Other symptoms include postmenopausal bleeding, loss of appetite, rectal bleeding and abdominal bloating. The take home message of this news is to remind health care practitioners and the general public that seemingly common and benign symptoms – such as bloating – may, in fact, signify a potentially serious diagnosis, especially when taken together with the constellation of symptoms that can be associated with ovarian cancer. [via CBS News]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.