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Ovarian cancer action reveals ‘shocking' levels of awareness of ovarian cancer and the associated symptoms
At the official launch of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month on February 28th attended by State Minister for Health Rosie Winterton, Ovarian cancer action revealed the shocking findings of our nationwide survey into levels of awareness of ovarian cancer. The survey revealed that despite being the fourth most common cancer in women, the general public and women in particular are woefully ignorant of ovarian cancer and its associated symptoms.
Only 1 in 6 (16%) of women are aware of ovarian cancer, this compares with more than 4 in 5 women (84%) who are aware of breast cancer, and women are more aware of the exclusively male cancers prostate and testicular than ovarian.
Two thirds of women (66%) are not able to cite any symptoms of ovarian cancer or say they do not know what the symptoms are, and almost two thirds (59%) of women say they don't know or are not able to mention any risk factors associated with ovarian cancer.
There is also widespread confusion between ovarian and cervical cancer, with 45% of women mistakenly believing that a smear test will tell them whether or not they have ovarian cancer, and over 1/3 (34%) mistakenly believed that the more sexual partners a woman has, the more at risk she is of developing ovarian cancer.
Annwen Jones, Chief Executive of Ovarian cancer action, commented, "Early detection is vital to improving outcomes in ovarian cancer so it is extremely important that every woman is aware of the symptoms and risk factors. This survey highlights the urgent need for a national awareness campaign to help women identify warning signs and to enable them to ask for specialist advice if they are concerned".
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP, broadcaster and spokesperson on women's health for the Royal College of General Practitioners who also spoke at the launch said, "Of all the cancers that women have that I care for, ovarian cancer is the most distressing because it tends to be picked up so late. Through health care professionals and women working together to detect ovarian cancer earlier there is a real chance of improved outcomes"
The Dr Foster Intelligence survey on awareness of ovarian cancer was commissioned by Ovarian cancer action and involved representative samples UK wide according to region and socio-economic groupings with 2017 interviews with men and women during December 2006/January 2007. The purpose was to establish a baseline assessment of awareness of ovarian cancer and its associated symptoms.