Postcode lottery for ovarian cancer diagnosis

THOUSANDS of women are dying needlessly from ovarian cancer due to a ‘postcode lottery’ in diagnosis, experts said yesterday.

They said the chance of picking up on the disease early – when the probability of survival is up to 90 percent–depends on where a patient lives. NHS data shows rates of early diagnosis vary widely, from as high as 56 per cent in Cornwall to as low as 29 per cent in Essex.

Around 7,270 women are struck with ovarian cancer each year – and one in five is too ill even to receive treatment by the time the disease is spotted. The annual death toll is 4,230.

Rebecca Rennison, of the charity Target Ovarian Cancer, said: ‘If we can achieve the Government’s ambition of three quarters of women diagnosed with early stage disease, it would be a breakthrough comparable to the first introduction of chemotherapy ... it would see thousands of lives saved.’

Ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to recognise because the early symptoms, which include bloating and appetite loss, are often mistaken for mild complaints.

A quarter of victims are diagnosed after being taken to casualty in severe pain. By then it is usually too late.

Overall, just 42 per cent of women are diagnosed at stage one or two. Campaigners claim women are often ‘fobbed off’ by GPs who they say should be better trained in spotting symptoms.

‘See thousands of lives saved’