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Dr Odile Bagot (Gynecologist-obstetrician)
Suffering from sciatica pain, Kate Wylie was diagnosed with a much more serious illness: ovarian cancer. How to explain such confusion? What are the symptoms of this cancer? The answers of Dr Odile Bagot, gynecologist and member of the Doctissimo expert committee.
Kate Wylie suffered from persistent pain in her left leg, which she put down to sciatica. However, this young woman, aged 33, discovered that she was actually suffering from ovarian cancer.
A common symptom that actually hides cancer
The story is reported by the Daily Mail. Faced with persistent pain in her left leg, Kate Wylie went to her doctor. After a scan, we discovered that her pain was not linked to sciatica but to ovarian cancer, diagnosed at stage 3.
“It’s extremely rare.” immediately reassures Odile Bagot, gynecologist and member of the Doctissimo expert committee. “But it’s possible that a growing pelvic mass could end up compressing the sciatic nerve and triggering the same pain, when in reality it’s cancer.”
A disease that progresses quietly
Affecting an average of 5,000 women per year, ovarian cancer progresses silently in the body. “When the first symptoms are felt, the disease has generally progressed well and women are at a rather advanced stage, unfortunately” confirms the expert.
The prognosis therefore unfortunately remains rather gloomy. “Generally, women are treated with treatments that work initially, but the disease recurs within eighteen months, very severely, often with a fairly poor prognosis unfortunately. adds Odile Bagot. “Women who have a greater chance of developing this disease are those whose diagnosis is made early, but the discovery is then most often fortuitous..
No existing mass screening
Could ovarian cancer be diagnosed preventatively? “This is not currently the case, all meta-analyses show that making a ultrasound screening would not be relevant” indicates the specialist. “The lesions that could be detected by ultrasound would ultimately be more benign than malignant; there would be too great a risk of operating on women for nothing.”
The only case where women need to be monitored are those with a BRCA mutation. “In this case, preventive examinations are prescribed regularly and as soon as possible, their ovaries are removed.” she concludes.
Often uncharacteristic symptoms
Manifestations of ovarian cancer can be of different types:
- THE digestive disorders : bloating, nausea, constipation, loss of appetite, stomach pain, unexplained weight loss, etc.;
- THE gynecological disorders : disruption of periods, bleeding or abnormal vaginal discharge, tension in the breasts, etc.;
- THE local disturbances linked to the tumor mass : pelvic pain, abdominal pain, lower back pain, urgent urge to urinate…
However, a 2004 study of more than 1,700 women showed that the frequency and severity of these symptoms constituted a first indicator requiring more attention from doctors. Additionally, a trio of signs (swelling of the abdomen, urgency to urinate and pelvic pain) was present in 43% of women with ovarian cancer compared to 10% of those with benign tumors and 8% of healthy women. Ovarian cancers are also 7.4 times more often associated with increase in waist size3.6 times more often associated with swellings5.4 times more at abdominal masses and 2.5 times more often associated with urinary emergencies and 2.2 times more pelvic pain.
Even though ovarian cancer often remains a silent killer, it remains important to pay attention to certain symptoms (or rather to their frequency, severity and date of appearance) and to consult your doctor, your gynecologist in the event of doubt.