Articles

Ovarian Cancer: A Critical Female Syndrome

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer among women. This cancer is often very aggressive and tends to go undiagnosed until there are few options available for treatment. Ovarian cancer is found in women young and old, though it occurs most often in women over the age of 50. The risk for being diagnosed with ovarian cancer increases with age and among women who have a close relative who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Understanding the Disease

Ovarian cancer begins in the ovaries (the reproductive organs found in the area of the uterus and fallopian tubes) but can also (rarely) begin in the fallopian tubes. The most common form of ovarian cancer affects the epithelial cells that cover the ovaries. Tumors begin growing on the ovaries and can spread to other areas of the body.

These tumors can be benign (non-cancerous, which never spread beyond the ovary) or malignant (cancerous). Tumors can form on any of the three main types of cells located in the ovaries: germ cell tumors (which develop in the cells that make eggs), stromal tumors (which develop in the ovaries connective tissues) or epithelial (which develop in the cells on the ovary’s surface).

Each type of tumor is capable of presenting in a number of variations which means there is no single type of ovarian cancer, there are many.

Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

In many cases there are no symptoms at all before diagnosis and the existence of a tumor is stumbled upon in an exam. In cases where symptoms exist, they include:

• Abdominal swelling, bloating or a feeling of fullness
• Pain during intercourse
• Frequent urination or change in bowel habits
• Nausea, indigestion or gas that never seems to ease up
• Weight loss or gain
• Shortness of breath (in cases where the tumor has grown up into the abdominal cavity.

Treatment

Ovarian cancer can be treated by traditional means successfully depending on how far the cancer has spread and if it affects and major organs. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are traditional treatments which have varying degrees of effectiveness.

Surgery – doctors can remove the affected area or the entire set of reproductive organs (ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes) to eliminate the cancer altogether. This is often done in conjunction with chemical or radiation treatments to eliminate the re-growth of cancerous cells.

Chemotherapy – the use of drugs to kill cancer cells or slow the growth of tumors

Radiation therapy – the use of high frequency x-rays to reduce the size of tumors and kill cancerous cells

Risk Factors

A family history of the ovarian, breast or colon cancer (a close relative like a sister, mother or daughter)

• Having been diagnosed with breast or colon cancer
• Being a woman over the age of 50
• Never having had children
• The use of fertility drugs or oral contraceptives