Enough is enough: take action on awareness crisis in ovarian cancer

There is an awareness crisis in ovarian cancer. With no viable screening tool, it is vital that everyone is aware of the symptoms if more are to be diagnosed early. Ovarian cancer is much more treatable when it is caught early. But right now, two thirds are diagnosed late.

New data from Target Ovarian Cancer has highlighted the severity of the situation in England. Only 21 per cent of women are able to name bloating as a symptom, 32 per cent abdominal pain, 2 per cent feeling full and just 1 percent urinary urgency. There is also confusion around cervical screening, with 40 per cent of women in England wrongly believing that a cervical screening test detects ovarian cancer. 

NHS England’s inclusion of abdominal symptoms in the ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign is a positive step. But much more needs to be done to tackle this crisis.  

We need to see the current diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer shortened. Ovarian cancer is diagnosed with a CA125 blood test and an ultrasound, however these tests are carried out separately leading to a longer wait time for diagnosis.  

Enough is enough – urgent action is needed, now. We the undersigned call on the government to: 

• Ensure continued and sustained investment in awareness campaigns. 
• Shorten the diagnostic pathway, with a CA125 blood test and ultrasound carried out at the same time.  

There is an awareness crisis in ovarian cancer. With no viable screening tool, it is vital that everyone is aware of the symptoms if more are to be diagnosed early. Ovarian cancer is much more treatable when it is caught early. But right now, two thirds are diagnosed late. 

New data from Target Ovarian Cancer has highlighted the severity of the situation in Scotland. Only 23 per cent of women are able to name bloating as a symptom, 36 per cent abdominal pain, 5 per cent feeling full and just 2 per cent urinary urgency. There is also confusion around cervical screening, with 45 per cent of women in Scotland wrongly believing that a cervical screening test detects ovarian cancer.  

Scotland is leading the way on early diagnosis of ovarian cancer with a diagnostic pathway that is shorter than anywhere else in the UK. But much more needs to be done to tackle this crisis. It’s vital that every woman in Scotland knows the symptoms to look out for so they can contact their GP at the earliest opportunity.  

Enough is enough – urgent action is needed, now. We the undersigned call on the government to launch an awareness campaign featuring ovarian cancer symptoms. 

There is an awareness crisis in ovarian cancer. With no viable screening tool, it is vital that everyone is aware of the symptoms if more are to be diagnosed early. Ovarian cancer is much more treatable when it is caught early. But right now, two thirds are diagnosed late.

New data from Target Ovarian Cancer has highlighted the severity of the situation in Northern Ireland. Only 33 per cent of women are able to name bloating as a symptom, 32 per cent abdominal pain, 2 per cent feeling full and no one was able to name urinary urgency. There is also confusion around cervical screening, with 46 percent of women in Northern Ireland wrongly believing that a cervical screening test detects ovarian cancer. 

Much more needs to be done to tackle this crisis. It’s vital that every woman in Northern Ireland knows the symptoms to look out for so they can contact their GP at the earliest opportunity. We also need to see the current diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer shortened. Ovarian cancer is diagnosed with a CA125 blood test and an ultrasound, however these tests are carried out separately leading to a longer wait time for diagnosis.  

Enough is enough – urgent action is needed, now. We the undersigned call on the government to: 

• Launch an awareness campaign featuring ovarian cancer symptoms. 
• Shorten the diagnostic pathway, with a CA125 blood test and ultrasound carried out at the same time. 

There is an awareness crisis in ovarian cancer. With no viable screening tool, it is vital that everyone is aware of the symptoms if more are to be diagnosed early. Ovarian cancer is much more treatable when it is caught early. But right now, two thirds are diagnosed late.

New data from Target Ovarian Cancer has highlighted the severity of the situation in Wales. Only 27 per cent of women are able to name bloating as a symptom, 33 per cent abdominal pain, 3 per cent feeling full and just 2 per cent urinary urgency. There is also confusion around cervical screening, with 42 per cent of women in Wales wrongly believing that a cervical screening test detects ovarian cancer. 

Much more needs to be done to tackle this crisis. It’s vital that every woman in Wales knows the symptoms to look out for so they can contact their GP at the earliest opportunity. We also need to see the current diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer shortened. Ovarian cancer is diagnosed with a CA125 blood test and an ultrasound, however these tests are carried out separately leading to a longer wait time for diagnosis.  

Enough is enough – urgent action is needed, now. We the undersigned call on the government to: 

• Launch an awareness campaign featuring ovarian cancer symptoms. 
• Shorten the diagnostic pathway, with a CA125 blood test and ultrasound carried out at the same time.