Abdominal bloating is one of the most common and recognizable symptoms of ovarian cancer. If you experience a feeling of fullness, tightness, or discomfort in your abdomen (belly), go see your OB/GYN to get it checked out. It’s easy to dismiss this symptom as having other causes such as food disagreeing with you, or IBS, or stress. And it’s possible any one of those things is the cause. But it’s also possibly gynecologic in nature. Ovarian cancer is called the “silent killer” because it’s often caught late, when it’s hard to fight. Knowing the symptoms and getting checked early is your best defense against this disease.

Do you know how to recognize the most common symptoms of ovarian cancer? Abdominal bloating, pelvic pain, urinary urgency… all are hallmarks of ovarian cancer that can easily be confused for something else. The reason ovarian cancer is so dangerous is because the symptoms are hard to recognize or may not be noticed until it’s fairly advanced. This article covers the most common and also rarer symptoms of this disease to help women recognize it earlier.