Women warned of ovarian cancer risk

Experts have urged women to be on their guard for ovarian cancer, which is more common than cervical cancer and claims more lives.

There has been an increase in the number of women going for cervical smears since the tragic death of Jade Goody from cervical cancer.

However, the charity Target Ovarian Cancer is concerned that women are less aware of ovarian cancer, a disease that affects around 6,800 women every year in the UK, making the nation's incidence of the disease one of the highest in Europe.

According to research, many women wrongly believe that a negative smear test also means they are clear of ovarian cancer.

Annwen Jones, chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, said that women should be given the correct facts.

'Sadly, cervical smears do not rule out ovarian cancer, which is more common and kills more women than cervical cancer. So women need to be on their guard,' he said.

'There is, as yet, no proven screening test for ovarian cancer and this makes it all the more vital for women to be aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer especially if they have had a family history of breast or ovarian cancer or have already had breast cancer themselves.'

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