A HOSPITAL in Stretton is urging women to take key warning signs of ovarian cancer more seriously.
March marks Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, with new research revealing that symptoms are being ignored during the current coronavirus lockdown.
To address this, Spire Cheshire Hospital is encouraging women to keep an eye out for early signs of symptoms so they can be treated sooner rather than later.
During the pandemic, there has been a dramatic fall in the number of people contacting their GP to get cancer symptoms checked out.
Target Ovarian Cancer charity has also found that 54 per cent of women say their treatment has been affected by Covid-19 and 27 per cent are not able to access the same care and support.
Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer amongst women in the UK, with more than 7,000 women diagnosed each year and 4,300 deaths annually.
Early detection can lead to successful treatment for many sufferers, but because symptoms are not well known and are often mistaken for ‘tummy troubles’ or period pains, it is often discovered in the late stages when successful treatment is much more difficult.
Brett Winter-Roach, consultant gynaecologist at Spire Cheshire Hospital, said: “Far too many women are dismissing the symptoms for too long before going to see their GP.
“My advice to any woman suffering from any of the below symptoms is to go to their GP and discuss the matter thoroughly.
“Cancer is not going away just because of the pandemic, and women must feel confident that when they visit their GP they will be examined with the possibility of ovarian cancer in mind.”
When women are diagnosed in the early stages of ovarian cancer, they have a 90 per cent chance of surviving, but this reduces to less than 40 per cent when diagnosed in the later stages.
The four main symptoms to look out for are persistent bloating or increased stomach size, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, needing to urinate more frequently and a persistent stomach pain.
For more information or to make an appointment, call 01925 215087 or complete an online enquiry form via spirehealthcare.com/spire-cheshire-hospital/enquire/
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