Ovarian
cancer or cancer of the ovaries is the second most common gynaecological cancer.
It is a major cause of death from a gynaecological cancer.
The ovaries are found only in women. It is
responsible for the monthly release of an egg, which if fertilized causes
pregnancy.
Almost everybody has heard about cancer. But do you know what it really is?
Cancer is simply a condition which occurs
when ‘body cells refuse to die’. Sounds nice i guess? But the ‘interesting’
thing about these cells is that they do not function anymore, they simply
occupy space and consume the nutrients in the body to maintain their growth. They
do this at the expense of normal body cells. After sometime, the normal cells
are wiped out due to lack of nutrition and that organ no longer functions. These
cancer cells keep moving from one organ to the other until the person dies. I like
to think of cancer cells as ‘strongmen’ who do not know how to work, but they
starve workers to death.
Now that we know what cancer is, i think we
will better understand what ovarian cancer actually does to the body.
Ovarian cancer is rare in young women, and
only 3% of ovarian cancers occur in women under 35 years.
Medical researchers and scientist cannot
really explain why cancer occurs, but they have been able to study cancer
patients and have found certain things common to them. This does not mean that
if you have these things, you will automatically come down with cancer, but
they are there to help you reduce your risk. The truth is anybody can get
cancer, but at least let it not be due to your own lifestyle. These things described above are known as
risk factors in medicine. There are risk factors you cannot change, like your ethnicity,
colour and age. Others however
can be modified.
Now what are the risk factors for ovarian
cancer?
1.
A
person who has never had a child.
2.
If
you started seeing you period at an early age.
3.
If
your attained menopause at a late age.
4.
If
you use an intrauterine device for contraception.
5.
If
you have a disorder called endometriosis (simply means you have cells that line
the womb in other parts of your body, so as you bleed every month during your
period, you also bleed from those places).
6.
If
you smoke cigarette.
7.
If
you are obese (BMI ≥35kg/m2. You
can calculate your own BMI by dividing your weight in kg by the square of your
height in metres).
8.
Your
genes: it is estimated that at least 10-15% of women with ovarian cancer have a
genetic link. You can no disease if you have other family members who have ovarian
cancer.
What are the signs that you might have
ovarian cancer?
1.
Persistent
pelvic and abdominal pains.
2.
Increased
abdominal size and a feeling of persistent bloating.
3.
Difficulty
eating and feeling full quickly.
4.
A
change in your bowel habit.
5.
Pain/difficulty
during urination.
6.
Backache.
7.
Irregular
menstruation
8.
Fatigue.
If you frequently have these symptoms, you
might want to consult your doctor.
Most people with ovarian cancer are
discovered late because unlike cervical cancer, there is no method of screening
for it. You start having symptoms when it is already advanced.
Most cancers have no cure (very few have), because
the cancer cells are like body cells, so treatment targeted at them will also
kill normal cells, although the cancer cells die more (that is why cancer
patients take their drugs at regular intervals-weeks, to allow the body recover).
Surgery and chemotherapy are useful in ovarian cancer. However, prevention they say is better than cure.
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