TV PRESENTER SARAH GREENE PENS OPEN LETTER URGING MORE AWARENESS OF OVARIAN CANCER SYMPTOMS

Two thirds of people are diagnosed with ovarian cancer too late when the cancer has already spread. This Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, campaigner's are saying enough is enough. 

Women are being failed as the awareness crisis in ovarian cancer deepens. Symptoms of ovarian cancer are being ignored – both by those experiencing them and their GPs.

In 2010 the TV Presenters mother, the actress Marjie Lawrence, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just three weeks before she died. Had her family and her doctors been aware of the symptoms, Marjie might be alive today. If diagnosed at the earliest stage, 9 in 10 women will survive. But two thirds of women are diagnosed late, when the cancer is harder to treat

This March, for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Target Ovarian Cancer is urging the public to sign open letters to governments across the UK and tell them what is needed to combat the crisis. As a nation we desperately need to make progress in people's knowledge of the 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 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.  

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"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.  

To sign the open letter please follow this link: Sign our open letter to UK governments (targetovariancancer.org.uk)