Transcript Presentation about ovarian cancer

Ovarian Cancer
Awareness
In the Community
Facts about Ovarian Cancer
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80% of cases occur in women over 50.
5th most common cancer in women
Almost 7000 cases in the UK every year
19 women every day are diagnosed.
Life time risk is 1 in 50
Incidence of Ovarian Cancer has
increased by 50% since 1970s.
Facts – why the campaign?
• Awareness is low and cases are picked up later
• Only 3% of women know the symptoms
• Symptoms similar to IBS therefore GPs don’t
always pick it up.
• 50% women confuse Ovarian with Cervical –
think screening detects ovarian.
• Ovarian is the most fatal gynaecological cancer
(4x more than cervical cancer)
• 39% cases present as emergency
Source: Target Ovarian Cancer
Facts: why the campaign?
• The average five-year survival rate from ovarian
cancer decreases with age
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52% for women 50-59
39% for women 60-69
28% for women 70–79
15% for women 80-99
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Survival can be up to 70% for women diagnosed with
earlier ovarian cancer compared to 5% of women who’s
cancer is diagnosed with the most advanced stage of the
disease.
Risk Factors
• Age,
• Family History / Gene Mutation
• Gender,
• Lifestyle
• Reproductive History
• Medical History
Evidence base is not as strong compared to
Breast.
Ovarian cancer and age
Reproductive history
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A Women’s Risk May Be Increased If
She has never given birth
Had her first child after 30
Has never taken the oral contraceptive pill
She started menstruating at a young age (before
12)
• She experienced menopause at a late age (after
50)
• She did not breast feed
• HRT
Lifestyle
Obesity (BMI 30+) - evidence of increased risk
linked to especially in pre-menopausal women.
Low physical activity levels - mixed research
results - evidence for and against
Smoking - estimated 2% ovarian cancers caused
by smoking
Talcum powder - long term daily use
Medical History
• Previous Cancer - evidence for link with
breast (previous diagnosis or family history)
• Endometriosis
• Ovarian Cysts
Reduced risk:
Hysterectomy , tubal sterilisation
Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer occurs when abnormal cells within
the ovary start to divide uncontrollably. This growth
forms a mass of abnormal cells within the ovary
called a tumour. Tumours can be benign or
cancerous. Benign ovarian tumours do not spread
to other parts of the body while cancerous ovarian
tumours can spread to nearby structures such as
the uterus and fallopian tubes and if left unchecked
can spread to other parts of the body such as the
bowel, liver and lungs.
Source: Target Cancer Awareness
Symptoms
• Feeling bloated or having a swollen tummy on most
days/all the time
• Feeling full or having difficulty eating (on most days
• Persistent tummy or pelvic pain
• Urinary symptoms (needing to wee more urgently or
more often than usual)
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Occasionally there are other symptoms:
• Changes in bowel habit
• Extreme fatigue – feeling very tired
• Unexplained weight loss
Symptoms
The key features of the symptoms of ovarian
cancer are:
• Their persistency – they don’t go away
• Their frequency - they occur on most days
• They are new – they started in the last 12
months
• They are unusual – they are not normal for you
• The symptoms are similar to IBS - but ovarian
cancer symptoms are distinctive because they
are frequent and persistent whilst IBS
symptoms come and go.
Tests
• If a woman is experiencing the most
common symptoms more than 12 times a
month she should see her GP.
• CA125 blood test
• Ultra Sound Scan
• 2 week wait referral
Barriers to Taking Action
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Low experience of symptoms
Knowledge
Fear
Blame stigma (being over weight)
Cultural
GP / hospital service
Fatalistic view underlies all these.
Reasons for not visiting GP – Level of agreement with statements
A5 Ovarian cancer leaflet
NTCN will be printing
40,000 and distributing to
GP Practices, Pharmacies,
Libraries, Leisure centres,
Hairdressers,
Weightwatchers and
Slimming World.
Key Messages
• It is not the silent killer – there are several
symptoms that should not be ignored.
• FEELING BLOATED MOST DAYS / 3 WEEKS
• Women should not delay seeing their GP
• And should not be embarrassed,
• Ovarian cancer is not detected through cervical
screening.
• Likelihood of developing ovarian cancer increases
with age