Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer symptoms often mimic everyday chronic complaints often experienced by women, and so sufferers may not seek assistance from a health professional - which can delay diagnosis and result in poorer outcomes, says Ovarian Cancer Australia CEO Alison Amos.
Symptoms include abdominal or pelvic pain; increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating; needing to urinate often or urgently; and difficulty eating or feeling full quickly. "They're quite common symptoms that any woman may experience from time to time," Ms Amos says. "It's easy for women to dismiss them.
"But it can also be a challenge for women in terms of getting those symptoms paid due attention, and we have many conversations with women through our 1300 line where they'll talk about feeling like they've been on a bit of a revolving door, sometimes through multiple doctors, trying to be taken seriously.
"Quite often it's dismissed as irritable bowel, or the change of life, or sometimes, 'You're just feeling a bit crazy,' which is not terribly helpful. So one key thing we try to do is encourage women to listen to their bodies, and know what's normal for them. If it's not normal, it's worth getting checked out."
Ovarian Cancer Australia encourages health professionals, especially GPs, to think about and rule out ovarian cancer when a woman presents with these symptoms, Ms Amos says.
Pharmacists can talk to women presenting with these symptoms about Ovarian Cancer Australia resources which have been designed to help women talk to their GP or other health professional about their concerns. These include a pen-and-paper symptom diary and the Know the Important Signs and Symptoms (KISS) smartphone app, which both allow women to track their symptoms.
"There's a really key role there for community pharmacies in terms of encouraging women to listen to their bodies," says Ms Amos.
"For women who are diagnosed, I think there's no doubt that they will be in and out of pharmacy with various needs over time. Pharmacists can encourage women to seek support, ask their questions.
"We hear women saying they don't want to burden their doctors - and so there's something we can do about that individual advocacy and empowerment.
"Because pharmacists can play an authoritative role in patient communication, if the pharmacist says, 'Why not think about this?' or 'Write this down, that's a valid question, ask it next time you see the doctor,' they would provide that additional level of encouragement to ask about assistance for pain, or managing that particular side-effect of treatment."
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month will take place in February, and Australians will again be encouraged to host an "Afternoon Teal" to raise money and awareness. Ms Amos says some diagnoses have been made after attendees learned about ovarian cancer symptoms at Afternoon Teals and had their own symptoms investigated.
"Queen of cakes" Kerry Vincent, from the Nine Network's Great Australian Bake-Off, is the Afternoon Teal Ambassador.
Old Parliament House in Canberra will be lit in teal and Ovarian Cancer Australia is currently developing a national action plan for the disease, and preparing for a think tank workshop this year to identify and develop a clear strategy for issues from prevention to palliation.
Australians are frequently shocked when they are told the statistics around ovarian cancer, says: around 1400 women are diagnosed with the disease each year, and around 1000 dying from it.
"It's much less prevalent than breast cancer, but it contributes about a third as many deaths as breast cancer - so there's many less women impacted, but the impact is very significant," Ms Amos says.
"It's a poor prognosis cancer with very little change in the last 30 years in terms of new therapies available for women."
More information: www.ovariancancer.net.au
Reproduced from an Article in AJP on Fridays 17/1/2014
