(Catriona Harvey-Jenner/ Cosmopolitan) — It’s so important for women – and anyone for that matter – that we know as much as possible about our own bodies and what it’s trying to tell us, as it can urge us to seek the right help and support on time. But new research from charity Target Ovarian Cancer has revealed women are overlooking serious cancer symptoms – one of which is persistent bloating.
Bloating happens in a lot of people, but often it’s dismissed as ‘normal’. We tend to treat it as an inconvenient side effect of eating too much or put it down to an IBS symptom. Of course, the majority of bloating cases won’t turn out to be a symptom of cancer – but on the off chance it were, any delay in diagnosis is concerning.
Target Ovarian Cancer reveals that less than 2 in 10 women (17%) would book an urgent GP appointment (within a week) if they experienced regular bloating. That’s in contrast with other, more ‘well known’ cancer symptoms, such as an unexplained lump, or a mole that has changed shape, where more than 50% of women would get them urgently checked out. (…)