AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is a common cancer in older women, usually over 50 year of age. However, the cancer also affects younger women. The cause of ovarian cancer is unknown. The cancer is hard to diagnose, but it can be treated if diagnosed early.

There are no obvious signs or symptoms. Many women diagnosed with ovarian cancer reported no symptoms until the cancer is in an advanced stage and has already spread to other parts of the body. Unfortunately, it is hard to detect the cancer at its early stage, as there is no available screening technique.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Ovarian cancer was the eighth most common cancer diagnosed in women in Australia in 2002 and the sixth most common cause of cancer death. Five-year relative survival for women diagnosed from 1998 to 2002 was 42 per cent. A total of 851 women died from ovarian cancer in Australian in 2004.

As stated, the chance of surviving ovarian cancer is high if the cancer is detected early. Only 20 percent of cancer cases were found before cancer cells spread beyond the ovaries. Most cases the cancer is found in a late development stage when it is hard to treat.

Ovarian cancer overview

There are two ovaries, one on each side of a women’s uterus in the pelvis. The ovaries produce eggs. Female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, are also produced by the ovaries. Every month, there will be one mature egg, which travels through the fallopian tubes to the uterus. Somewhere along this process, the eggs may be fertilized and developed into a fetus.

There are three main types of ovarian cells:

• Epithelial cells. These cells are found on the surface of the ovaries. They are the cells that cover the ovaries.
• Germ Cells. These are cells that produce eggs. They are located inside the ovary.
• Stromal cells. The main function of these cells is to produce female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). They are also found inside the ovaries.

Ovarian cancer is cancer in the ovaries. The cancer happens when abnormal cells grow in one or both of the ovaries. This cancer can be cured if it is detected and treated early. But most of the time, the cancer has already spread by the time it is found.

Unfortunately, there is no known cause of this cancer. Some women with ovarian cancer have a family history of cancer, but some have not. Also, women who have never been pregnant or who are in their menopausal age are more likely to have ovarian cancer. 

In Australia, about 1200 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and about 700 die from it. This is because about 75 percent of these cases, the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body. It is very difficult to treat when the cancer is at advanced stage and has spread to other organs.

Most of the time, the disease is detected by symptoms a woman reports to her doctor. The reason to explain why this disease is often detected in a late stage, is because there no routine, cost-effective screening tests exist for ovarian cancer. Pap smears are only used to detect early sign of cervical cancer, not ovarian cancer.