A doctor has sent out an urgent warning that some everyday health issues women experience might be the early signs of ovarian cancer.And some of them are so subtle, we might ignore them all together.Dr Asiya Muala, speaking to Kent Live, said that it was absolutely vital to recognise ‘persistent changes in the body’ to help improve outcomes against cancer.She said: “Many of the symptoms of ovarian cancer overlap with common conditions like bloating or indigestion, which is why they are often dismissed.”Dr Muala added that the key indicator that something wasn’t right, is that the changes are persistent and don’t get better with time.”It’s not about occasional symptoms, but those that are new, persistent and happening more frequently,” she said.

Ovarian cancer is hard to detect early because it often presents vague, non-specific symptoms that mimic common, minor conditions, leading to delayed medical consultation. Early-stage symptoms are subtle and often overlooked or mistaken for issues like IBS or gastrointestinal distress.Symptoms of ovarian cancerDr Maula said you should be on the lookout for any loss of appetite.“If someone finds they are getting full much more quickly than usual, or struggling to finish meals, that can be a sign something isn’t quite right,” Dr Maula added.It’s a change that people often don’t connect to anything serious.”Another big tell that something isn’t right in your body is constant bloating that does not get better with time.A PubMed study of over 88,000 Americans found that nearly 1 in 7 adults (about 14%) experience bloating on a weekly basis.