My dear husband, Waisea has been at me for a few days now after having spent time reading through my whole blog. His gripe is about the fact that I still have not dealt with the possible causes and indicators which would be important in raising awareness for any woman out there interested in her own health and how best to prevent herself from getting ovarian cancer. In an earlier post, I provided a website which gave some information on the risk factors and symptoms. A girlfriend of mine who visited last week asked me how she could prevent herself from getting ovarian cancer and whether a pap smear would do it. I had to inform her that a pap smear would NOT detect ovarian cancer and that was something I had consciously done regularly anyway.
So what were my risk factors?
- Having a family history of cancer.
- Being post-menopausal, only in my case it was diagnosed earlier than most women who generally have theirs diagnosed after the age of 65.
- Use of talcum powder between my thighs after my bath since I was a teenager. Studies have shown that this is not good as these powders have carcinogens in them. (http://www.naturalnews.com/029602_talcum_powder_ovarian_cancer.html) I only came across this information after my diagnosis and when doing research on ovarian cancer.
My symptoms included:
- bloating.
- abdominal pains & pelvic pains.
- pain during sex.
- urinary urgency and frequency especially towards the end when I was diagnosed.
- just before diagnosis I began to notice that I fatigued easier, particularly in the evenings.
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