Ovarian Cancer - 4 Signs You Must Know About!

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and occurs in the inner ovarian lining. It is not something that’s easily identified as it has no definite symptoms. In many women, it could be ignored until it has reached an advanced stage. Here, we have come up with a few facts about the causes, risk factors, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment for ovarian cancer.

Causes/risk factors
There are no specific causes for ovarian cancer, other than a genetic condition. If there is a strong family history, it is advisable to talk to your doctor and see how you can use these to your advantage and reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer. The following could be potential reasons that increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer.

1. Postmenopausal women
2. Menarche before 12 or menopause after 50
3. Never having had a baby
4. Use of hormones during menopause

Symptoms
As noted earlier, ovarian cancer does not have specific symptoms. But, a few symptoms could be such as the following.

1. Regular bloated feeling in the abdomen
2. Abdominal/pelvic pain
3. Reduced eating capacity, as a feeling of fullness sets in
4. Urination changes including increased frequency and increased urge

If these symptoms are present for 2 to 3 weeks and do not resemble the regular digestive or menstrual problems, it is advisable to get it medically checked. The difference would be that they appear suddenly, do not disappear, and also bring general lethargy, back pain, indigestion, painful sexual intercourse, and menstrual cycle changes.

Questions to ask after the tests
When these symptoms persist, and a medical checkup is undertaken, the patients can a few questions to know more. Know the internal speed. Has the disease involved one or both ovaries? This extent of spread within will determine whether one or both ovaries need to be removed. Find out any external signs, as ovarian cancers can spread to other parts, and they should be checked before treatment and planning the cure/procedure.

Treatment options
Depending on the extent of disease, treatment options would include a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The duration again would depend on the spread of cancer.

Side effects
Any of the above treatment modes will have side effects in terms of reduced immunity, watching out for recurrence, hormonal effects, etc. Nausea and vomiting would be severe during the initial chemotherapy. Removal of hysterectomy would bring about hormonal changes and increase risk for breast cancer. Understanding these will help in identifying recurrence and altering lifestyle and following up after the treatment.

Survival guide
This would include changes including diet modification, adequate social support, and leading a healthy lifestyle to prevent recurrence.

Factors that can reduce the risk

1. Having babies
2. Breastfeeding
3. Tubal ligation or hysterectomy
4. Use of oral contraceptive pills

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!