Written by Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine

SIU gynecologist-oncologist Dr. Laurent Brard has a message for post-menopausal women: Bleeding after menopause is never normal.

“I sometimes see women in the office who waited up to a year or two before they seek medical care,” explains Dr. Brard. “Women need to know that any vaginal bleeding after menopause isn’t normal, and they should see their gynecologist or primary care doctor as soon as possible.”

Bleeding past menopause could signal endometrial cancer, the most common form of uterine cancer. According to Dr. Brard, no good screening tool exists for endometrial cancer, though many mistakenly think uterine cancer can be found through routine Pap tests.

“Pap tests only screen for cervical cancer,” Dr. Brard stresses. Cervical cancer can often be found early, and sometimes even prevented entirely, by having regular Pap tests. “If we detect it early, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable gynecologic cancers,” Dr. Brard explains. To lower your risk of developing cervical cancer, use condoms and do not smoke. You can also lower your chances of developing cervical cancer by receiving the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.

Like uterine cancer, an effective screening tool for ovarian cancer has yet to be developed. The American Cancer Society estimates that ovarian cancer accounts for only about 3% of cancers among women, but it causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

Ovarian cancer is more likely to cause persistent, out of the ordinary symptoms, that is, symptoms that occur more often or are more severe. Dr. Brard says women should be on the lookout for these common symptoms of ovarian cancer:

• Bloating
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• Urinary symptoms such as urgency (always feeling like you have to go) or frequency (having to go often)

Women who have late stage ovarian cancer are more likely to notice these changes. Other, less common symptoms of ovarian cancer might include fatigue, upset stomach, back pain, pain during sex, constipation, menstrual changes and abdominal swelling with weight loss.

“Unfortunately, many of the symptoms – bloating, abdominal pain or urgency, are more commonly caused by other things,” explains Dr. Brard. “By the time women consider ovarian cancer a possible cause, it’s usually already spread beyond the ovaries.”

If you experience symptoms associated with ovarian cancer almost daily for more than a few weeks, and your symptoms can’t be explained by other, more common conditions, schedule an appointment with your gynecologist or primary care provider as soon as possible.

Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois