The 'C' Word: come and post your questions about ovarian cancer for the experts at Ovarian Cancer Action

[RowanMumsnet]

Throghout October we're running an awareness-raising campaign on Mumsnet - called The 'C' Word - about the three key cancers which primarily affect women: breast, ovarian, and cervical. The last couple of weeks have seen the breast cancer Q&A (answers will be available shortly), and today we're launching the second Q&A, this time about ovarian cancer, in partnership with Ovarian Cancer Action.

About 6,800 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK each year, but as yet, there's no national screening programme specifically for this form of the disease. So it's really vital that we all know what the symptoms are and when to go to our GP. This is your chance to ask anything about ovarian cancer - symptoms, treatments and research - and have it answered by the experts.

Post your questions by the end of Wednesday please - the team will get the answers back to us as quickly as they possibly can, so do keep an eye out.

Look out our final Q&A on cervical cancer, coming up later in October.

[thisiswhataluv]

i have been having pain in the right side of my groin area for about 10 days now, i had inercourse with dh on saturday and got such a sharp pain in the same area for about 2 seconds if that ....
my periods have always been irregular but now they can be anything from 6-9 weeks apart,
earliest appointment with doctor is this friday, but i got in such a state on monday that i rang nhs direct and went to my local walk in centre, the nurse there felt my stomach and said she couldnt feel anything, she asked if i had back and leg pain, i answered no, she then said go and see your gp.
as it is yesterday i developed a pain which felt deep inside my left thigh despite the pain being in right side of groin....
im pretty sure i have a cyst..
can anyone tell me how the symptoms of a cyst differ to oc please? are they the same symptoms?
i am getting myself really anxious about this..
should mention im 27 and have 3dc, have never had any problems conceiving and smears are all normal...

[teatea]

I agree with Heartsease and share the same concerns regarding Dermoid Cysts. I currently have 1 small dermoid cyst on each ovary. These are recurring cysts as I've already had two operations for removal of benign dermoid cysts. Is there a blood test to see if there is a genetic link to ovarian cancer? Despite my history of operations I still couldn't get a scan to check state of ovaries after successful IVF pregnancy. This has to be wrong....

[ASmallBunchofFlowers]

I have had conflicting advice from doctors about whether or not IVF treatment (lots of drugs) increases the risk of OC. Does it? If so, what are the symptoms to be alert for?

[mumbar]

Will an ultrasound pick up OC? Or a pelvic exam??

When having pelvic exam it felt briused when GP pushed externally whilst examinining internally. I have been referred to hospital for an ultrasound.

[WilfShelf]

When women are worried about symptoms that fit the profile of OC, but also fit symptoms of many other things much less serious, how should they proceed to talk to their health care professionals? Given that saying what one is really worried about can be difficult in a health setting, what sort of 'script' can help women get the answers they want, without being dismissed, but without placing unnecessary pressures on resources either?

It would be helpful to have the OC expert's advice on the crucial questions to ask GPs; and indeed the follow-up to their usual responses...

[RowanMumsnet]

Thanks very much for all of these. We're going to close the thread to new questions now and send it off to the Ovarian Cancer Action team for their responses; we'll post here when the answers are in.

Look out for the cervical cancer Q+A next week.

[KateMumsnet]

Hello

Just to let you know that those lovely experts at Ovarian Cancer Action have got their answers back to us in superfast time - they're over here.

Thanks again for all your questions.

[Littlefish]

Thank you very much. That was very quick!

[ASmallBunchofFlowers]

Thanks!