To mark World Ovarian Cancer Day, Target Ovarian Cancer is calling for all South Asian women to raise awareness of ovarian cancer in their community.
To help women do this, the charity has re-launched leaflets in Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. The leaflets include up to date information on the symptoms of ovarian cancer as well as advice for anyone who is concerned about the disease.
Every year in the UK, 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 4,300 women lose their lives.
Early diagnosis of ovarian cancer saves lives. It is vital that all women in the UK are aware of the symptoms and understand how to seek medical help if they are worried. The symptoms include feeling bloated, needing to wee more, feeling full and abdominal pain. Symptoms will be frequent (over 12 times in a month), persistent and new.
Kath Leach, Head of Supportive Services at Target Ovarian Cancer said: “World Ovarian Cancer Day aims to raise awareness of ovarian cancer amongst all women. To mark the day, we are calling on all women to raise awareness of ovarian cancer amongst their own communities. We are asking South Asian women to talk to their mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts and friends and tell them about the symptoms of ovarian cancer. Our new leaflets arm women with the information they need, as well as giving advice on speaking to a GP.
“Since there currently isn’t a screening programme for ovarian cancer in the UK, it’s really important for all women to be aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer and go to their GP if they are worried. To ensure as many women as possible are aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer, it’s vital that information is available not just at GPs and hospitals, but at local community centres, pharmacies, mosques.”