ovarian cancer symptoms

Ginelle - Symptoms that are most common are not noticeable immediately. Indigestion and acid reflux are something to keep an eye on. Also, a persistent cough should be checked. The most telling symptom usually appears too late in the process. It is called asites. It is fluid build up in the abdominal cavity and this occurs in the late stages of the disease. Gilda Radnor's stomach was so large at the time of her diagnosis she could not fit behind the wheel of a car. It actually took one year for them to confirm her diagnosis. I had a similar experience. They were able to drain 8 liters of fluid from my abdominal cavity. Just think of carrying 4 two liter bottles of coke around for awhile!! If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me knoe.

Ginelle,
I'm glad you are getting checked by your Gyn, and I hope all goes well for you. My symptoms were so mild, I could have easily ignored them, but I just didn't feel right. I had some swelling of the abdomen, noticable only to me, but the big tip off was pain during intercourse which progressed to general pelvic discomfort. My Gyn was very thorough and sent me for a transvaginal sonogram, which showed distortion of both ovaries, but which was diagnosed as endometriosis. It was bad enough that my doctor scheduled me for immediate surgery. That's when he found out that it was cancer. Luckily he had taken the precaution of having a gynecologic oncologist on call during my surgery, so she was able to come in and remove most of the cancer right then and there. I recommend reading Dr. Steven Piver's book "Gilda's Disease." The medical treatment information (especially the info on available chemo treatments) is really outdated, but his discussion of symptoms, risk factors, and genetic links is excellent. You know your body better than anyone else, so make sure you insist on a thorough follow-up of your symptoms. Please let me know how you make out at the doctor, and best of luck to you.
Ellen

for me they started with being tired. then i had discomfort in my lower abdomen that got worse. That's when i saw my dr. 2 weeks later i was in surgery.

groundeffect said:

One of the most prominent symptoms that I had prior to diagnosis was deep vein thrombosis, which had caused one of my legs to swell for months. I rarely see it mentioned associated with ovarian. Another symptom I've heard of is leg pain, which may be because of abdominal swelling interfering with blood flow.

Dear GroundEffect,
Thanks for posting. I also had leg pain and then a DVT in the leg. I was diagnosed with OVCA while in the ER for the DVT. It is an important sympton that you rarely see mentioned.

How are you doing?

mirtle said:

Ginelle - Symptoms that are most common are not noticeable immediately. Indigestion and acid reflux are something to keep an eye on. Also, a persistent cough should be checked. The most telling symptom usually appears too late in the process. It is called asites. It is fluid build up in the abdominal cavity and this occurs in the late stages of the disease. Gilda Radnor's stomach was so large at the time of her diagnosis she could not fit behind the wheel of a car. It actually took one year for them to confirm her diagnosis. I had a similar experience. They were able to drain 8 liters of fluid from my abdominal cavity. Just think of carrying 4 two liter bottles of coke around for awhile!! If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me knoe.

We need to talk! I had four liters in there too. If you'd like to compare notes I would be happy to chat-

MAJOR lower back pain, stomach filled with fluid, vomiting for no reason, again, MAJOR LOWER ABCK PAINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bosberg said:

I realize this is an old

I realize this is an old thread, but I find myself reading many of these older threads these days.

Can someone explain to me why those with ovc would experince a peristant cough? I googled it but can't find much out there.

Thank you

Cough?

I never heard of persistent cough being a symptom of ovarian cancer. Potentially if and when OVCA metastasizes to the lungs, that may cause cough, coughing up blood (hemoptysis) and shortness of breath (dyspnea).

Otherwise persistent cough could be caused by cigarette smoking, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), sinus problems, bronchitis, pneumonia, COPD, emphysema, some high blood pressure drugs.

Ovarian Cancer Symptoms.

Interesting to read those early posts and read about DVT being listed as a symptom. My family doctor referred me to a general surgeon after checking my initial CT scan. The first comment the surgeon  made when I walked in to his surgery was "Is your leg always that swollen?" I said my Podiatrist had told me I had Achilles Tendonitis. The surgeon sent me immediately for an ultrsound and CA125 blood test which revealed I had a DVT and a ca125 of1650, He rang me as soon as he received the news and said he was referring me straight away to a Gyno Oncologist as the CT scan,Ca125 plus the DVT could mean a dx of ovarian cancer. This was very quickly confirmed by the Gyno Onc. a few days later. When it came to my surgery, after 3 rounds of chemo, the DVT despite treatment with a blood thinner, had not subsided. My Gyno Onc was concerned about surgery  being a concern so insisted that I have a Vena Cava Filter inserted to prevent a clot getting to my lungs. This was NOT a good experience but a necessary one. I have the highest regard for the care and help these medicos provided.

The conclusion I came to was that a DVT may also be a symptom of Ovarian Cancer.