Many Women Don't Know This Warning Sign of Endometrial Cancer
Key Takeaways
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Many women don’t know a key warning sign of endometrial cancer
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More than one-third don’t know postmenopausal bleeding can be a symptom
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Two in five said they wouldn’t mention abnormal bleeding to their doctor after one episode
Too many women don’t know a key warning sign of endometrial cancer, the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs, a new study shows.
More than one-third (37%) of women surveyed did not know that postmenopausal bleeding is a key symptom of endometrial cancer, researchers said.
Worse, 41% said they wouldn’t tell their doctor about postmenopausal bleeding if they’d only had one episode. This could be because doctors aren’t properly counseling women, the results showed.
Fewer than half of the women surveyed reported that their health care professional had counseled them about postmenopausal bleeding.
“There is a need for increased recognition of postmenopausal bleeding and provider counseling on postmenopausal bleeding, and educational interventions should focus on public and provider awareness of endometrial cancer risks and symptoms,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Meredith Wise, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology with the University of Minnesota Medical School.
