Ovarian Cancer – Why is it A Hard to Diagnose Deadly Threat to Women?
For many women when they think of cancer that affects women their minds turn immediately to breast cancer. Thanks to improved screening and treatments options that have been developed over the past twenty years the detection and survival rates for those afflicted with that disease have increased greatly. However fewer women understand the risk posed by ovarian cancer which may be why fewer than 20% of cases are detected in the early stages, when ovarian cancer is still highly treatable.
Ovarian cancer can be hard to diagnose, as its early symptoms often mimic those of many other common health conditions and a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is not always the first thought in a physician’s mind. Abdominal pressure or swelling, urinary urgency and pelvic pain are all early signs of ovarian cancer but they are also symptoms of many other, less harmful conditions as well.
Those with a family history of ovarian, breast and colon cancer should be especially vigilant if they develop these symptoms, as research has found that family history does play a part in a woman’s likelihood of developing the disease, as may age, the use of artificial hormone treatment at and after menopause, and women who have never given birth in their lifetime may also be a greater risk for developing ovarian cancer as they get older.
There is, as of yet, no definitive test that screens for ovarian cancer, and it is still most frequently first detected during the regular pelvic exam that it is recommended all women past puberty undergo once every twelve months.
If a physician suspects that ovarian cancer may be present the disease can only really be accurately diagnosed and staged by a surgical procedure called a laparotomy. This involves an abdominal incision and an exploration of the entire abdominal cavity to look for signs that cancer may have spread outside the ovary to the other organs. In some cases the surgeon will remove an ovary during the laparotomy procedure to be sent for further testing.
If ovarian cancer is positively diagnosed the common practice amongst surgeons is to remove both the ovaries and fallopian tubes. If the disease has spread to the abdomen, which in many cases it does, surgical “debulking” is implemented to remove as much of the cancer as possible. After surgery is completed a course of chemotherapy is often then prescribed to increase the patient’s chances of long term survival.
September 6th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Can a woman, whose ovaries have already been removed, develop ovarian cancer? Thanks for your answers.