Ovarian cancer symptoms

Other symptoms of ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer and primary peritoneal cancer may include:

• a change in your normal bowel function (diarrhoea or constipation)
• weight loss for no obvious reason
• unexplained or extreme tiredness (fatigue)
• vaginal bleeding after the menopause.

If you are aged 50 or older and develop symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for the first time, you should also have tests. IBS can cause bloating and changes in bowel function. But it does not usually start after the age of 50.

We understand that showing any symptoms of what could be cancer is worrying. The most important thing is to speak to your GP as soon as possible. We are also here if you need someone to talk to. You can:

• Call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00.
• Chat to our specialists online.

We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.

We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:

• use plain English
• explain medical words
• use short sentences
• use illustrations to explain text
• structure the information clearly
• make sure important points are clear.

We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.

You can read more about how we produce our information here.