Symptoms

In some cases, ovarian cancer may cause early symptoms. The most common symptoms of ovarian cancer include:⁴

• Frequent bloating.
• Pain in your belly or pelvis.
• Trouble eating, or feeling full quickly.
• Urinary problems, such as an urgent need to urinate or urinating more often than usual.

If you have one or more of these symptoms, and it occurs almost daily for more than 2 or 3 weeks, talk with your doctor.

These symptoms are common for some women. They may not mean that you have ovarian cancer. But the early symptoms of ovarian cancer follow a pattern:

• They start suddenly.
• They feel different than your normal digestive or menstrual problems.
• They happen almost every day and don't go away.

Other symptoms that affect some women with ovarian cancer include:

• Fatigue.
• Indigestion.
• Back pain.
• Pain with intercourse.
• Constipation.
• Menstrual cycle changes.

But these symptoms are also common in some women who don't have ovarian cancer.

What Happens

Ovarian cancer often spreads early. Because it grows in the tissues covering the ovaries, it can spread easily within the abdominal cavity to the bowels and bladder or the peritoneal lining. From there it may travel to other organs in the body, such as the liver or lungs.