Do You Have Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer? Did Your Doctor Ignore Your Complaints and Failed to Diagnosis Ovarian Cancer?

I know the title of this blog is bold, but Ovarian Cancer is not the “silent killer” it used to be decades ago. Many women exhibit signs or symptoms of ovarian cancer and are frequently told by their doctors that they are normal complaints or that they are “going through the change”, starting early menopause or it is all in their head and they are depressed. For some women, that may be true. For many other women, those words lead to an early death due to an undiagnosed advanced ovarian cancer. Just ask Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner’s husband. Gilda died in 1989 at 42 years of age, due to advanced ovarian cancer. Gilda’s abdominal pain, fatigue and pain in her groin and legs were “caused” by other issues. Were they? OK, maybe 22 years ago it was harder to diagnose ovarian cancer but since then, is there any excuse not to suspect or look for ovarian cancer in a woman that has abdominal complaints, leg pains, a change in her monthly cycle, heavy bleeding, bloating as well as other changes that are not normal for the woman?

Gilda and Gene brought ovarian cancer into the spotlight and onto TV years ago but unfortunately, even now, 22 years later, not many doctors have listened. Maybe the doctors practicing today do not know who Gilda Radner was or think that comedians are not to be taken seriously, even when they are trying to spread the word about a very serious medical problem or cancer awareness. But the fact remains, ovarian cancer was brought into the spotlight 22 years ago. Why was it ignored? Why is it still ignored?

Women in the early stages of ovarian cancer may start to have heavy or irregular periods, bloating, decrease in appetite, abdominal pain, painful intercourse, mid-cycle bleeding or spotting in between periods, missed periods, changes in urination pattern or peeing more often, or bowel changes such as constipation or diarrhea. Unfortunately, many of these symptoms are ignored or the woman is told she is going through the change or it is all in her head.

Thank you Dr. Oz for appearing on the Today Show recently and talking about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer that many women may experience and doctors or gynecologists may ignore. Thank you for your checklist and I suggest that all women visit your website to view the checklist of symptoms or complete the screening tool.

Here at the Beasley Firm medical negligence law firm, our legal and medical teams have not only lost loved ones due to cancer, we have also evaluated thousands of cases where there was a delay in diagnosing cancer or a misdiagnosis of cancer that led to suffering or death. We really do understand the pain and suffering you or a loved one are going through after a failure to diagnose cancer until it was too late.

Please feel free to call one of our experienced attorneys, physicians, or nurses for a risk-free, strictly confidential consultation.