--- title: Did you know a Pap Test does NOT detect ovarian cancer? Know the symptoms & signs for detection. description: Every woman is at risk for ovarian cancer. Symptoms can be vague & its important for women to know the signs;early detection increases the chance for survival. image: https://info.shields.com/hubfs/DONT_WISH_FOR_IT_WORK_FOR_IT.jpg --- Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Belarusian Bengali Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Esperanto Estonian Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Korean Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Macedonian Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Scottish Gaelic Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala SlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSudaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu Search for: [![Shields Health Care Group](https://info.shields.com/hubfs/Shields_February2019/Images/logo_main.png) ](https://shields.com/) Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Belarusian Bengali Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Esperanto Estonian Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Korean Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Macedonian Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Scottish Gaelic Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala SlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSudaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu # Did you know a Pap Test does NOT detect ovarian cancer? Know the symptoms & signs for detection. 10.18.16 ![](https://info.shields.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DONT_WISH_FOR_IT_WORK_FOR_IT.jpg?width=556&name=DONT_WISH_FOR_IT_WORK_FOR_IT.jpg "DONT_WISH_FOR_IT_WORK_FOR_IT.jpg")Ovarian cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells are found inside or near the ovaries. Early detection for ovarian cancer is very important, in fact, when ovarian cancer is diagnosed and treated in the earliest stages (stage I or II), the five-year survival rate is over 90 percent, this is compared to a survival rate as low as 28 percent if caught in stage III or higher. An estimate one in 75 women will develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime and in women ages 35-74, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Helping to identify the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer can help women identify it in its earliest state and increase their likelihood of cancer survival. Ovarian cancer can be difficult to detect simply due to the fact that the ovaries, located on either side of the uterus, are deep within the abdomen. However, the symptoms listed below are often identified as some of the earliest signs to look for:   OVARIAN CANCER SYMPTOMS:  - bloating - trouble eating or feeling full quickly - pelvic or abdominal pain - Feeling the need to urinate urgently or often OTHER SYMPTOMS CAN INCLUDE: - fatigue - upset stomach or heartburn - back pain - pain during intercourse - constipation - menstrual changes *NOTE: If these symptoms persist daily or more than 2 weeks, ask your physician for a combination pelvic/rectal exam, trans vaginal ultrasound and CA-125 blood test. *OVARIAN CANCER RISK FACTORS: - genetic predisposition - personal or family history of bresat ovarian or colon cancer - increasing age - undesired infertility OVARIAN CANCER FACTS: - all women are at risk - symptoms may exist - they can be vague, but increase over time - early detection increases survival rate - a Pap Test DOES NOT detect ovarian cancer If you have a symptom that suggests ovarian cancer, you may have one or more of the following tests: - *[Pelvic ultrasound](http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=pelvus)* - * [Abdominal and pelvic CT](http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=abdominct)* - Exploratory [laparotomy](http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/glossary/glossary.cfm?gid=1109)  - [Laparoscopy](http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/glossary/glossary.cfm?gid=374)  If cancer has been detected, imaging is often useful to determine the extent of the tumor in the abdomen and if the cancer has spread. The following imaging tests may be performed to help stage the disease: - *[Body CT](http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct)* - [*Body MRI*](http://shields.com/our-services/mri/overview/)  - *[PET/CT ](http://shields.com/our-services/petct/petct-procedures/) * - *[Lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract radiography](http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=pet)*  *sources: ovarian.org; radiologyinfo.org; shields.com* ### Archives - [August 2010 (10)](https://info.shields.com/archive/2010/08) - [September 2010 (8)](https://info.shields.com/archive/2010/09) - [November 2010 (4)](https://info.shields.com/archive/2010/11) - [October 2010 (3)](https://info.shields.com/archive/2010/10) - [December 2012 (2)](https://info.shields.com/archive/2012/12) ### Latest Posts ### Posts by Category - [MRI (40)](https://info.shields.com/topic/mri) - [Shields MRI (20)](https://info.shields.com/topic/shields-mri) - [PET/CT (19)](https://info.shields.com/topic/petct) - [sports (15)](https://info.shields.com/topic/sports) - 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