Doctors Mistake Ovarian Cancer Symptoms for Depression, Delaying Treatment

New research warns that ovarian cancer symptoms are frequently mistaken for depression.

This dangerous confusion could be delaying life-saving treatment for thousands of women.

A study published in the journal Cancer reveals that physical illness is often misread as mental health struggles.

Experts say this misdiagnosis puts patients at serious risk.

Ovarian cancer is a deadly disease claiming around 4,000 lives annually in the UK.

Yet, early detection offers a 95 per cent survival rate for more than five years.

The problem is that early signs are easily dismissed as stress, menopause, or ageing.

Researchers from the University of Iowa found that one in three women with the disease also has depression.

However, the cancer itself causes fatigue, poor appetite, and trouble focusing.

These same physical ailments are classic signs of depression.

Consequently, doctors may overdiagnose the mental health condition.

This means women receive antidepressants or therapy for feelings caused by their cancer.

It delays proper attention to the tumor while symptoms linger.

Lora Thompson, a clinical psychologist at Moffitt Cancer Centre in Florida, highlighted the difficulty.

She noted that separating physical cancer pain from emotional distress is hard even for experts.

Thompson emphasized the need for a whole-person approach to patient care.

The study team examined 428 women with ovarian cancer closely.

They discovered that low energy and poor eating habits appeared near diagnosis.

These specific symptoms largely vanished a year later according to lead author Rachel Telles.

The data suggests physical burden inflates depression scores at the time of diagnosis.

Authors argued that ignoring the body's cancer symptoms leads to wrong conclusions.

They called for refined measurement methods that account for the physical toll of active disease.

Doctors must now consider the physical impact of ovarian cancer before labeling a patient as depressed.

Ignoring this link could cost women their lives through missed early intervention.

Public awareness of these subtle signs is critical for survival.