this is SO irritating. why are we so ignorant?

For me, it's hard to believe, but most women are STILL ignorant of the signs of ovarian cancer.

I suppose because it's a vivid reality for me, I want everyone to know about it. BEFORE they get it. BEFORE they are at Stage 3. Or even Stage 2. I want everyone educated about ovarian cancer – not the fact that 'I've had it'; no, no, that's not the point of this blog at all [although everyone knows that already as I am such a blabbermouth on here] – I want them to know the SYMPTOMS of ovarian cancer. I want to make a difference. Even if this blog helps ONE single woman get diagnosed early, well, that would make my day. Plus it would make all this blasted typing worthwhile!

It drives me mad. I worry about all the young girls I see with big alcopop bellies hanging over their low slung jeans – simply because that kind of weight can lead to not noticing things like the lump I had in my groin. If I'd been fatter, I wouldn't have seen it at all. That would have spelt disaster and probably death for me. My tumour was quite advanced. Imagine – you'd have been spared this continual blathering monologue!

I worry too about all those women running around who are simply Too Busy to notice the warning signs. I was. I ignored my body, which was yelling at me. They may end up like me. Diagnosed late. Or worse. Diagnosed TOO late. After all, I have been very lucky [she knocks 3 times on wood!]. I am in remission. But having been treated quite late in the day, the risk of recurrence is higher for me than if I had been diagnosed earlier. The cancer had spread from my ovary to my bowel and my omentum. Here's the Beast Itself. Repulsive isn't it??

The earlier the treatment, the more positive the long term outlook.

We STILL haven't got enough publicity – we STILL aren't out there enough – women STILL don't know that this vicious cancer is the 4th most virulent type of cancer; it kills 4,500 women in the UK annually, four times as many as die from cervical cancer. Which everyone knows about.

I think part of the problem is we keep bloody well dying. Well, we have got to stop that. There must be more survivors to tell everyone else. And the way to do that is education.

Some poll or the other [who do they speak to eh?] has found that almost one in three women (29%) mistakenly think that a smear test will pick up signs of ovarian cancer. I beg to differ – I think that we [generally] as women, assume that the smear test actually will pick up anything cancery at all. I think I thought that. Having had a smear test annually since my late teens [before I lived in the UK] I sort of 'assumed' that was my annual M.O.T. I didn't think about it – and certainly no-one told me about it in any way that impinged on my consciousness.

SEE THE SYMPTOMS HERE. Read it, and think about it. It could save your life. Much quicker to read and digest these little factoids, than to sit around for months in chemo.

Make yourself aware so that you have the chance to catch ovarian cancer early and vastly increase your chance of survival. Three times as many women could survive if it was diagnosed at the earliest possible stage.

If you regularly have difficulty doing up your trousers and perhaps look like you could be pregnant, maybe have persistent tummy pain [I didn't] and feel full or have difficulty eating, get checked out. They are common symptoms but when they happen on most days, make your GP aware of what is happening to you. And INSIST!! Do not be fobbed off with painkillers. We know our bodies and we should listen to them.

If all else fails, and your GP doesn't want to listen, try the new OvPlex™ test. Peace of mind, or early detection - cheap at the price.