There are many different health issues that only affect women, however there is one particular health issue that has caused many deaths all over the world in the past couple of centuries, it’s the ovarian cancer. According to medical news today: “Ovarian cancer refers to any cancerous growth that occurs in the ovary. The majority of ovarian cancers arise from the epithelium (outer lining) of the ovary” (medicalnewstody.com).
For the year 2016 roughly 22,280 (1.3%) women got diagnoses with ovarian cancer and for 14,240 (2.4%) it lead to their death. However, for the past 5 years the percentage for women surviving ovarian cancer has only been 46.2 %! Recent statistics have shown that ovarian cancer is the 8th most common cancer …show more content…
With that being said, family history plays a big role. If close family members have had breast cancer or ovarian cancer in the past, the chances of developing breast / ovarian cancer yourself are much higher. Also, as mentioned above, the older a women gets the higher the chances of getting this disease. The majority of ovarian cancers occur in women over 65. Women that suffer from obesity have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer as well. Studies have also proven that women that had been diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. What many people don’t know there is also a link between the total number of ovulations during a woman's life and the risk of ovarian cancer. What women should know is the more times a woman has become pregnant, the lower her risk is of being diagnose with ovarian cancer. If a women has never been on the contraceptive pill, her risk of getting ovarian cancer is a higher risk. Also, women who started their periods at an early age have a higher risk and finally, women whose menopause started later than average have a higher risk for ovarian cancer as well (medicalnewstoday.com).
There are many different ways to diagnose ovarian cancer. Some of the methods are a blood test, an ultrasound, laparoscopy (a thin viewing tube with a camera at the end is inserted into the patient through a small incision in the lower abdomen), an abdominal fluid aspiration, a CT scan and a MRI. Once ovarian cancer is diagnosed by the doctor, it’s important for the doctor to know the stage and the grade of the cancer. By know what stage and what grade the cancer is, the doctor then can determine what treatment option may be the best for the patient