Ovarian Cancer - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Ovarian cancer is cancer that grows in the ovary. The disease is the seventh positions among the types of cancer most commonly strikes women. Every year, there are about 250,000 cases of ovarian cancer worldwide, leading to 140,000 deaths per year.

This cancer can occur in any age group, but generally occurs in women who have entered the period of menopause or are over 50 years old.

Types of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer grouped into three types, based on the location of the beginning of the development of cancer.

Epithelial tumors, cancer cells appear in the ovarian tissue wrapping. This is the type of ovarian cancer the most much going on.
Stromal tumors, cancers appear in the layer in which it is located of hormone-producing cells. These include rare types of cancer. Only about 7 among 100 cases of cancer of the ovary which is of this type.
Germinal cell tumor, cancer develops in the egg-producing cells. This type of ovarian cancer tends to occur at young age women.

The Symptoms Of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer rarely causes symptoms in the early stages. If anything, they may resemble constipation or bowel irritation symptoms in. Thus, ovarian cancer is usually detected when new cancer already spread in the body.

Some of the symptoms commonly experienced by sufferers of ovarian cancer are:

Stomach always feels bloated.
Swelling of the abdomen.
Abdominal pain.
Weight loss.
Quickly full.
Nausea.
Changes in bowel habits, such as constipation (hard bowel movements).
The frequency of urination.
Pain during sexual intercourse.

Causes and Risk Factors for Ovarian Cancer

Just like cancer in most cases, the cause of ovarian cancer is also not yet known for sure. There are several factors that supposedly could increase the risk of a woman in developing cancer. Those factors include:

Age. Ovarian cancer tends to occur in women aged 50 years and over.
Genetic. The risk of developing cancer of the ovary will increase if you have a family member who suffered from ovarian cancer or breast cancer. So also in women who have the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which is a genetic mutation can be lowered.
Estrogen Hormone Replacement Therapy, especially when done in a prolonged period of time and with high doses.
Suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
Never pregnant.
Experience the overweight or obese.
Experience a menstrual cycle before age 12 and menopause after age 50 years.
Undergoing fertility therapy.
Smoking.
Using contraceptives IUD.

Diagnosis Of Ovarian Cancer

Early diagnosis is made based on the symptoms experienced, family medical history, and physical examination results. Later examination conducted to enforce support diagnosis, including ultrasound, examination of the blood, or biopsy.

Ultrasonography (Ultrasound) examination is conducted to check the lower abdomen and reproductive organs. This examination can be found on the shape, size, and structure of the ovary.
Blood Examination is done to detect the presence of the protein CA 125 in the blood. High levels of CA 125 can indicate ovarian cancer. But this test could not be used as the sole benchmark because the CA 125 test is not specific, simply applied could be increased in other conditions that are not cancer, and not all sufferers of ovarian cancer have elevated levels of CA 125 in the blood.

Staging Of Ovarian Cancer

If the results of the examination show positive someone suffering from ovarian cancer, the next step to do is to determine the rate of spread of cancer. In determining the degree of spread of the cancer of the ovary, the inspection can be done with a CT or MRI scans, x-rays of the chest, as well as an examination of abdominal cavity fluid samples and ovarian tissue.

Knowing the rate of spread of suffered will help the doctor to determine the best treatment.

In General, the rate of spread of the cancer of the ovary is divided into four stages, namely:

Stage 1: cancer only attacking one or both ovaries, but has not spread to other organs.
Stage 2: cancer had already spread from the ovary to the pelvic or networks around the uterus.
Stage 3: cancer has already spread to the abdominal lining, the surface of the gut, and lymph nodes in the pelvis or abdomen.
Stage 4: cancer has already spread to other parts of the body, such as the kidneys, liver, and lungs.

Treatment Of Ovarian Cancer

Handling of ovarian cancer can be different in each case, determined based on the stage of cancer, health conditions sufferers, and the desire to have offspring. The main handling of ovarian cancer is through surgery and chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Operation

Operating procedure usually includes the appointment of both ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and omentum (fatty tissue in the stomach). This operation can also involve the appointment of lymph nodes in the pelvic and abdominal cavity to prevent and find out if there is a spread of cancer. With the appointment of both ovaries and the uterus, the sufferer can no longer have children.

Yet another case with ovarian cancer is detected at an early stage. The sufferer might only be undergoing surgical removal of one of the ovaries and fallopian tubes so that the possibility to have descendants still exist.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy after surgery can be scheduled. This was done to kill the cancer cells that are left. During chemotherapy, doctors will monitor the development of sufferers routinely to ensure the effectiveness of the drug and the response body against the drug.

Chemotherapy can also be given before the operation on advanced stage ovarian cancer patients, with the aim of discouraging the tumors to ease the procedure of adoption.

Every risky treatment cause side effects, as well as chemotherapy. Some side effects that may occur after the chemotherapy which are no appetite, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, hair loss, and increased risk of infection.

Radiotherapy

In addition to surgery and chemotherapy, radiotherapy is another action that could be an alternative. In radiotherapy, cancer cells are killed using radiation from x-rays.

The same as chemotherapy, radiotherapy can be given either after or before the operation. Side effects were also similar to chemotherapy, especially the onset of hair loss.

The Prognosis Of Ovarian Cancer

The more premature ovarian cancer is detected and treated, the likelihood of survival for any sufferer will increase. Nearly half the people with cancer will survive for at least 5 years after the diagnosed, and a third has a life expectancy of at least 10 years. However, sufferers who have been cured of cancer remain potentially experience a recurrence in the next few years.

In the event of recurrence, the success rate of the treatment will be very small. Then the handling on a case like this is more aimed at reducing complaints and control cancer cells so that entered a period of remission for a few months or years.

Prevention Of Ovarian Cancer

Because the cause is unknown, prevention of ovarian cancer is not doable for sure. But there are some things that can lower the risk of someone getting cancer. These steps include:

Using contraception in pill form for over 10 years. This step is shown to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by up to half.
Undergo pregnancy and lactation.
Implementing the healthy living patterns to avoid obesity example is exercise regularly and increase the consumption of fiber like fruits and vegetables.

In women who have a high risk of developing cancer of the ovary, surgical removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes before cancer can also be made in order to minimize the risk. This procedure is usually recommended at the age of 35 to 40 years old, for those who have decided not to have a descent again.