Stupid symptoms

I hate the symptoms of ovarian cancer. They're so innocuous, women can easily dismiss them - until the disease has grown out of control. That's what happened to me. And since I didn't notice the symptoms, I'm so afraid I'll miss them if (heaven forbid) there's a next time.

Women are urged to look for:

Vague but persistent gas, nausea, indigestion, constipation, or diarrhea

We all experience these symptoms and they're so easy to brush off. I have a friend who often has gas and indigestion from food allergies. We can easy overlook these signs, saying I ate something funny, I had too many vegetables, I took vitamins on an empty stomach, I'm just a gassy person, etc.

Abdominal bloating, feeling of fullness, or pain

As a chunky monkey, my abdomen always feels bloated. Of course, that could be fat. I sometimes feel full. I regularly have pain. Does that mean my cancer is back? God, I hope not.

I had these symptoms before my last check up and everything was fine. But the problem is, if these symptoms become part of every day life, how will I know when they're different? Quite the dilemma.

Frequent or urgent urination

I drink A LOT, therefore I pee a lot. Even as I type this, I'm thinking I should make a trip to the bathroom. It's hard to determine how many times is too many.

Menstrual disorders, pain during intercourse

No more uterus and ovaries, no more menstration. And I've got so much scar tissue and various pains, that I don't know what is the new normal for me and what isn't.

Fatique, backaches

Who doesn't feel tired? So many women I know have various activities, children, difficulty sleeping, etc, they often feel tired. I often feel tired. I know when I was first diagnosed, I was exceptionally tired. But like the other symptoms, how do you know when it's an unusual tired? How do you know when it's your body spending too much time trying to fight disease that it has little leftover energy?

And my back hurt during cycling on Tuesday. My left side ached as I pushed myself to do the hill climbs. Does it mean anything?

Weight gain or loss

Well losing weight isn't my issue. Weight gravitates to me and makes it home on my abdomen, back, arms, butt - okay everywhere. That's a terrible indicator of cancer for me. Now, I was trying to lose weight before I got sick without success. The same thing is happening now. So what does that mean?

Abdominal distention

This is the one very obvious symptom I did notice, eventually. Of course, I originally passed it off as excess gas (and so did my family doc). But it takes quite a bit of fluid to distend my belly so it's noticable. By then, the cancer had spread into my abdominal cavity.


See what I mean. Reading all these symptoms raises all kinds of questions in my mind and makes me worried. These very indicators make me wonder if my ovarian cancer is back. But they're also so common in every day life that they're easy to attribute to other things.

But if you're a woman who's experienced any of these symptoms for two weeks or more, get yourself checked out. It's worth the time and effort.

Tina