The seven signs you could be suffering womb cancer like Danniella Westbrook – from back pain and heavy bleeding to feeling tired

DANNIELLA Westbrook has revealed she's battling womb cancer - one of the most common types of women's cancer in the UK.

In an emotional interview, the former EastEnders actress revealed she has a family history of the disease, with her mum being diagnosed when the actress was just 15.

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Next month she will undergo a hysterectomy and is anxiously waiting to find out if the cancer has spread.

Danniella started noticing symptoms of the disease - the fourth most common cancer in women - more than a year and a half ago. She said she would bleed so heavily that she had to change her clothes six times a day.

After being diagnosed Danniella admitted she was terrified she was going to die like her good friend Jade Goody, who passed away in 2009 from cervical cancer - a different type of cancer that also affects a woman's reproductive organs.

More than 8,000 new cases of womb cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year - that's about three per cent of all cancers diagnosed in women.

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It is more common in women who have more tummy fat and women who have been through the menopause.

Cancer of the uterus is the most common type of female reproductive cancer and the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in women, behind breast cancer, lung cancer and bowel cancer.

Last year, new research suggested women who have a higher waist to hip ratio are a fifth more likely to get womb cancer.

Researchers found that for every 0.1 unit increase in the ratio, the risk of developing womb cancer increased by 21 per cent, they wrote in the British Medical Journal.

Women can work out their waist to hip ratio by dividing their waist circumference by their hip measurement.

But while so many women are diagnosed with the cancer each year and more research brings to light who is at risk, do you know how to spot the signs?

What are the symptoms of womb cancer?

The most common symptom of womb cancer is abnormal bleeding from the vagina.

The bleeding may start as a light bleed with a watery discharge, which may get heavier over time, according to NHS Choices.

As most women who are diagnosed have been through the menopause, any vaginal bleeding will be unusual.

In women who haven't been through the menopause, periods may be heavier than usual or women may experience bleeding between periods.

The symptoms include:

1. abnormal bleeding
2. pain in the lower abdomen
3. pain during sex
4. pain in the back
5. loss of appetite
6. tiredness
7. nausea

If you are worried about any of these symptoms, you should visit your GP.

Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of women's charity The Eve Appeal, said: "The abnormal bleeding that Danniella experienced is a common symptom of womb cancer, yet is often misdiagnosed or thought to be 'nothing serious' and we need to stress that in most cases, this is the case.

"But it's important to see a doctor and get checked out, as it could be something much more serious, like cancer.

"As the fourth most common cancer in women, womb cancer has alarmingly low awareness.

"This is particularly distressing as the symptoms go unrecognised by women and this is a often a very treatable cancer if it’s caught early."

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What causes womb cancer?

The exact cause of womb cancer is not known, but certain things can increase a woman's chance of getting it.

Cancer is a mutation in the structure of the DNA in cells, which can affect how they grow.

If left untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body either through the blood or the lymphatic system, which travels through the body's tissues and organs.

The NHS says these factors can increase a woman's chance of developing womb cancer:

• Age - the majority of cases occur in women aged 40 to 74, with only 1% of cases being diagnosed in women under 40
• Oestrogen -one of the hormones that regulates the reproductive system in women. Oestrogen stimulates the release of eggs from your ovaries and causes the cells of the womb lining to divide and progesterone gets the lining of your uterus ready to receive the egg from the ovaries. If these become out of balance and more oestrogen is produced, the cells of the lining of the womb can divide, increasing the risk of cancer.
• Hormone replacement therapy - this has a link to increased oestrogen and oestrogen-only HRT should only be given to women who have had their womb surgically removed. Other therapies should be a balance between the two hormones.

• Being overweight or obese - oestrogen can be produced in fatty tissue and being overweight or obese increases the level of oestrogen in your body. Women who are overweight are three times more likely to develop womb cancer compared with women who are a healthy weight, while very obese women are six times more likely to develop endometrial cancer compared with women who are a healthy weight.
• Not having children - women who have not had children are at a higher risk of womb cancer, which medics believe could be down increased levels of progesterone and decreased levels of oestrogen that occur during pregnancy having a protective effect on the lining of the womb
• Diabetes - women with diabetes are twice as likely to develop the cancer because it can increase the amount of insulin in the body, which in turn raises oestrogen levels. Many women with type 2 diabetes are also overweight, which further increases the risk.
• Polycystic ovaries - women with polycystic ovaries are more likely to develop the womb cancer because they also have more oestrogen in their body
• Endometrial hyperplasia - this condition causes the lining of the womb to become thicker, which could leave women at an increased risk of the cancer

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How is it treated?

Surgery is the main treatment for womb cancer, but different methods such as chemotherapy and radio therapy can be used as well.

The treatment very much depends on how advanced the cancer is.

In most cases as hysterectomy will be advised - that means removing the womb along with the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Once a woman has had a hysterectomy they will no longer be able to become pregnant.

If a woman is young and does not want to have a hysterectomy other options may be available.

Under very specific circumstances hormone replacement therapy can be used as a form of treatment, but it depends on what stage the cancer is at.

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