Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading reason of cancer death in women the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies and the second most generally diagnosed gynecologic malignancy. Older women are at highest threat. More than half of the deaths from ovarian cancer occur in women between 55 and 74 years of age and about one quarter of ovarian cancer deaths occur in women between 35 and 54 years of age. To detect cancer, early symptoms of ovarian cancer should be noted carefully.
Risk Factors
• Family history of cancer: Women who have a mother, daughter, or sister with ovarian cancer have an increased risk of the disease.
• If several women in a family have ovarian or breast cancer, especially at a young age, this is considered a strong family history.
• Personal history of cancer: Women who have had cancer of the breast, uterus, colon, or rectum have a higher risk of ovarian cancer.
• Age over 55: Most women are over age 55 when diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
• Never pregnant: Older women who have never been pregnant have an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer
• sense of pelvic heaviness
• vaginal bleeding
• weight gain or weight loss
• abnormal menstrual cycles
• lack of appetite
• inability to ingest usual volumes of food
• non specific gastrointestinal symptoms
• vague lower abdominal discomfort
• unexplained back pain that worsens over time
• increased abdominal girth
• nausea and vomiting
Treatments Of Ovarian cancer
Surgery
Surgery generally is necessary to treat ovarian cancer. Most patients undertake surgery in addition to another type of treatment. Surgery aids the physician to exactly stage the tumor, create a diagnosis, and execute debulking.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves using drugs to wipe out cancer cells. Many of these drugs demolish cancer cells by preventing them from growing and dividing quickly.
Radiotherapy
Radiography is known as radiation therapy - is not a regular treatment for ovarian cancer in the United States. This is because lots of American women are diagnosed with late-stage cancers that have spread broadly within the abdominal cavity. To be successful, radiotherapy must comprise all cancer cells within the radiation field, and abdominal organs like the liver, kidneys, and small bowel may not be able to resist the doses of radiation required to annihilate all tumorous tissue.
|
