For women, many vague symptoms of bleeding or cramping are easy to brush off because they think they are typical of menstruation. But often they could be trying to tell you something more serious, like typical signs of ovarian and cervical cancer. While many women shrug off these ailments or stay silent during doctor appointment, if you’re experiencing these symptoms is essential for you to visit your gynecological oncologist to verify they are not early signs.
What is Ovarian and Cervical Cancer?
To thoroughly understand the signs of ovarian and cervical cancer, you should know more about these two types of gynecological cancers.
Ovarian cancer
This type of cancer often goes undetected due to its lack of symptoms and is more challenging to treat in its later stages. Ovarian cancer causes a tumor to develop in the area of egg production in the reproductive system. Chemotherapy and surgery are options for treatment of ovarian cancer.
Cervical cancer
Another type of cancer with little to no early warning signs. Cervical cancer affects the cells in the cervix or the lowest part of the uterus. It is often associated with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, as it plays a role in the cause of this kind of cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are several options to treat cervical cancer.
Pay Attention to These Signs of Ovarian and Cervical Cancer
What are the symptoms of ovarian and cervical cancer? Because both of their early stages don’t have any signs or symptoms, visit your doctor for regular checkups for these symptoms is something women can do for prevention. It is better to be safe than sorry if you are experiencing specific symptoms of these cancers.
Pelvic pain
If you’re having persistent pain in the lower pelvic region or near your hip bones where your ovaries are, it could be a bad sign of these types of cancers. Frequent gas, bloating and cramping could be your body telling you that you merely need to change your diet, or that you may have ovarian cancer.
Abnormal bleeding
Have you had consistent irregular, heavy periods? You may want to look into why that is, as it could be endometrial or cervical cancer. Also, see your doctor if you are bleeding after intercourse or in between your regular period.
If you’re postmenopausal and still experience bleeding, it could be a warning of endometrial cancer or cervical cancer. Cleveland Clinic reports that 90 percent of postmenopausal bleedings are harmless, but for the other ten percent might be a more serious issue.
Strange weight loss or gain
If you’ve recently gained weight but can’t seem to find a reason for it, it could be due to tumor growth. Ordinarily, large fibroids or tumors grow undiagnosed until they are quite large, so if you notice weight gain in your abdomen only, you may want to see a doctor.
Loss of appetite
Cancer impacts your metabolism, causing you to feel less hungry and lose weight quickly. If you’ve suddenly lost 10 or more pounds unexpectedly, contact your doctor to see if you are having symptoms of cancer.
Let NVSCC Help Ease Your Worries
Nevada Surgery and Cancer Care offers gynecologic oncology with doctors who have a thorough understanding of early signs of gynecological cancers. Schedule a consultation with them to ease your concerns for ovarian and cervical cancer.