But other than knowing that ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose and it’s survival rate is not good because of the difficulty diagnosing it in the early stages, how much do you know about it?

Ovarian cancer, one of the gynecological cancers, along with uterine, endometrial, cervical and vaginal cancers, affects mostly women over the age of 50, or post menopause. Younger women do develop ovarian cancer but it’s not as common. While doctors don’t know what causes ovarian cancer, they do know that fertility and menopause play a role, showed by the rising number of older women who develop it.

Why is it hard to diagnose?

The symptoms of ovarian cancer are very vague and could easily be mistaken for other, much less serious health problems. And, although they may be uncomfortable, many women end up managing to live with them. The symptoms may include:

• Bloating in the abdomen
• Cramping
• Gas
• A feeling of pressure in the abdomen
• Unexplained changes in bowel habits, such as constipation
• Changes in bladder habits, including a frequent need to urinate
• Pain during intercourse (dyspareunia)
• Low back pain
• Changes in menstruation

Some women are diagnosed when they visit their doctor for a regular check up. Unfortunately, many women stop going for gynecological check ups once they’ve finished menopause because they feel that they no longer need this type of care. Since ovarian cancer strikes later in life, it shows that these examinations are important, no matter what age you are.

Testing

In order to diagnose ovarian cancer, your doctor would send you for various tests from blood tests to imaging (ultrasounds, magnetic resonance imaging). If your doctor continues to suspect ovarian cancer, then you may have to undergo a biopsy to have sample of the ovary tissue sent for testing.

Treatment

If caught early enough, removal of the ovaries, called an oopherectomy, can get rid of all the cancer. Some women also require removal of the uterus, a hysterectomy. Chemotherapy may also be needed.

Survival rate

Survival rate for early ovarian cancer is good. The American Cancer Society reports early ovarian cancer to have a survival rate of 93%. Unfortunately, only about 20% of ovarian cancer is diagnosed early. For late, more advanced ovarian cancer, the survival rate hovers around 30%.

Risks and prevention

Although doctors don’t know what causes ovarian cancer or how to prevent it, they do know that some women have a higher risk of devloping it. These include women who:

• have a family history of ovarian cancer
• are older
• have never had a child
• take some types of hormone replacement therapy

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Part of the Let’s Talk About… Series

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Photo: StockXchnge.com

Post from: Blisstree

Let’s Talk About…Ovarian Cancer

According to a press release issued by the American Cancer Society, African-American women were 60 percent more likely to die from their tumors than white women and survival time periods were also worse.

The press release says,

Dr. Wright and his team also found that over time, the incidence of serous tumors and clear cell tumors (two aggressive types of cancer) increased and the use of radiation decreased for both races. Lymph node dissection was performed to determine tumor stage more commonly in both races in recent years, and its use was well matched between the two groups (45 percent of blacks and 48 percent of whites).

The investigators note that differences in tumor characteristics and inequalities in care cannot completely explain the survival disparity between races found in this study. Biological differences might also play a role. Racial differences in risk factors such as obesity, medical comorbidities, and estrogen use have also been proposed as contributing to observed racial disparities in uterine cancer survival.

To read the press release in its entirety, go to Black women with uterine cancers more likely to die than white patients

Post from: Blisstree

African-American women have poorer uterine cancer outcome

A new study, published yesterday in the BMJ found that there is no link between the two. Researchers studied almost 55 thousand women who visited infertility clinics in Denmark between the years 1963 to 1998. The women were followed for an average of 15 years to see if they developed cancer.

The researchers did find that there was a slight increase in cancer among women who took Clomid, but the researchers didn’t feel that this was a significant increase and that the rise may have been an oddity.

You can read more about the study in this article, Fertility Drugs and Ovarian Cancer Not Linked, Study Says. The study authors do caution that the study was only 15 years and that doesn’t mean that cancer may not develop later on in life.

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Tags: cancer blog, ovarian cancer, fertility drugs and cancer

Post from: Blisstree

No link found between fertility drugs and ovarian cancer

Endometrial cancer is generally found in women around age 60 years and older, with there being only a 5% rate in women under 40 years old.

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Tags: cancer blog, oopherectomy, oopherectomies, endometrial cancer, endometrial cancer in young women

Post from: Blisstree

Early endometrial cancer in young women may not mean ovaries need to be removed

For those who decide to go ahead with the surgery, the hope is to eliminate the risk of ovarian cancer altogether. New research has shown, however, that some women still may develop ovarian cancer because when the fallopian tubes and ovaries are removed, there is the potential that some of the tissue is missed and left behind. If this happens, these bits of tissue are still at risk for becoming cancerous.

That being said – having the surgery does lower the risks of developing ovarian cancer significantly. The same research, which was a review of several studies done on this issue, found that it lowers the risk of ovarian cancer by 80% and of breast cancer by 50%.

You can read more about the study’s findings in this article, Ovarian surgery doesn’t end all cancer risk: study.

If you were told that you were at risk for ovarian cancer, would you consider removing your ovaries? I think I would. Of course, I’ve had my children so it’s a much easier decision for me than it would be a much younger woman.

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Tags: cancer blog, ovarian cancer, removing ovaries, removing ovaries and fallopian tubes, high risk of ovarian cancer

Post from: Blisstree

Women at high risk for ovarian cancer still have some risk after surgery

In a study, published in the most recent issue of the journal CANCER, researchers write that obesity may be a contributing factor to developing the cancer, with hormones playing the deciding factor.

According to a recently issued press release:

To investigate this issue, Dr. Michael F. Leitzmann of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues studied 94,525 U.S. women aged 50 to 71 years over a period of seven years. The researchers documented 303 ovarian cancer cases during this time and noted that among women who had never taken hormones after menopause, obesity was associated with an almost 80 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer. In contrast, no link between body weight and ovarian cancer was evident for women who had ever used menopausal hormone therapy.

Among women with no family history of ovarian cancer, obesity and increased ovarian cancer risk were also linked in this study. However, women that did have a positive family history of ovarian cancer showed no association between body mass and ovarian cancer risk.

These latest findings provide important additional information related to women’s risks of developing ovarian cancer. "The observed relations between obesity and ovarian cancer risk have relevance for public health programs aimed at reducing obesity in the population," the authors wrote.

This is interesting work. Hopefully they will be able to narrow things down in the not so distant future.

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Tags: cancer blog, ovarian cancer, obesity and ovarian cancer

Post from: Blisstree

Study links obesity to elevated risk of ovarian cancer

When I contacted her to tell her that the cervix and the cervical spine were totally unrelated, she became quite huffy and told me that she was well aware of the difference. The story still gives me a chuckle years later.

Anyway, it’s Cervical Health Awareness Month and it has nothing to do with your spine! The United States Congress designated January as Cervical Health Awareness Month and the National Cervical Cancer Coalition wants to make teen girls and women more aware of the health of their cervix and cervical cancer prevention.

The cervix is found at the top of the vagina and is the lower part of the uterus. There is an opening in the middle of the cervix and this is through where menstrual blood flows, semen enters, and babies are born.

The most important issue in cervical health is the Pap smear or Pap test. A Pap test is a screening test that checks for abnormal cells on the cervix. A Pap test can usually detect changes in a cell before it becomes cancerous. Because of this, cervical cancer is extremely treatable. However, you must HAVE the test for it to find the cells.

It’s recommended that women have their first Pap test when they become sexually active, if they’re under 18, or at 18 if they’ve not yet had sex. The nurse practitioner or doctor will then instruct each woman as to how often they should return for screening.

A Pap test is not a preventative thing – it can’t prevent you from getting infections or diseases, it can only detect if some things have already changed in the cervical cells.

Stay tuned to learn more about cervical health and cervical cancer.

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Tags: cancer blog, cervical health, cervix, cancer of the cervix, cervical cancer, pap tests, pap smears

Post from: Blisstree

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against certain types of HPV infection, is a recommended vaccine in the US for girls aged 9 to 12 years old. According to statistics, 70% of cervical cancer is caused by two of the strains that are prevented by the Gardasil vaccine. So, for US residents, it’s recommended. As of August 1, 2008, however, all new female immigrants who are between 11 and 26 years old *MUST* receive the vaccine.

Click here to read more.

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Tags: cancer blog, gardasil, cervical cancer, HPV, HPV vaccine

Post from: Blisstree

Young immigrant women to US must receive Gardasil – but not citizens

HPV, or human papilloma virus, is responsible for genital warts. Although there are many types of HPV, two are responsible for 70% of cases of cervical cancer in women. Gardasil protects girls and young women against developing four strains of HPV, including the two responsible for most cervical cancers.

The question from many is, if HPV is transmitted from boys to girls, from men to women, then boys should be vaccinated too. While researchers are working on finding out if this type of vaccine is good and safe for boys, we are left with the question: will boys get vaccinated?

The only way a boy or man will ever know that they have been infected with HPV is if they develop genital warts and not all do. As well, many genital warts may never be detected, so they wouldn’t know of their existence. So, will a male or the parents of a male, agree to be vaccinated against something that won’t every seem to cause them any harm? My guess is, no. If there is so much debate against giving the vaccine to girls, the debate will likely be stronger for boys.

What do you think?

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Tags: cancer blog, gardasil vaccine, gardasil for boys, HPV vaccine, HPV for boys, human papillomavirus, cervical cancer, genital warts

Post from: Blisstree

Should boys get Gardasil?

The controversial Gardasil vaccine, to prevent transmission of four types of human papillomavirus (HPV), two of which cause cervical cancer, has been given a prestigious pharmaceutical award, considered the Nobel prize of the pharma world, the the 2008 International Galien Prize. The prize is given for recognizing and promoting significant advances in pharmaceutical research.

With so many people opposing the vaccine, what do you think about the prize?

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Tags: cancer blog, gardasil, HPV vaccine, cervical cancer, galien prize, international galien prize, pharmaceutical research, human papillomavirus

Post from: Blisstree

Gardasil wins “Nobel” prize of the pharmaceutical world