What Is Ovarian Cancer?

Apart from breast cancer and thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer is another most dangerous disease that makes most women to suffer today.Ovaries are the reproductive glands of the female body that are small and located on each side of the uterus.

Ovaries, apart from helping in reproduction, forms one of the most vital parts of the female bodies, because they help in the production of estrogen and progesterone- the two most important hormones that not only help in fertilization and helping an embryo to develop within a woman’s womb, but also help in performing some other physiological functions of the body.

Ovarian cancer is a deadly disease that not only occurs in the ovaries but can also develop and affect some other parts of the body too. This type of cancer occurs when the cells within the ovaries begin abnormal cell division and show uncontrollable growth. The cancer primarily begins in the ovaries, particularly in the germ or the eggs cells, stromal cells that remain within the ovaries, and the epithelial cells in the external portions, and then gradually starts spreading into the other parts of the body.

Possible Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

The signs of ovarian cancer differ from one woman to the other. The early signs are not so much noticeable, or some might not have the early signs as such, or much vividly. Many suffer from ovarian cancer with mild or no symptoms in their early stages. Yet there are certain common symptoms that occur to those who have ovarian cancer.

Some of them are as follows:

• Problems in eating
• Increase in the urge of urination
• You feel full after eating a little bit
• Pain, bloating, and feeling of a pressure in the abdomen

The above feelings might seem to be trivial but are the early signs of ovarian cancer in most cases. So, whenever you start to feel these symptoms, it will be wise to get suggestions from your health care expert.

Symptoms Of Ovarian Cancer in The Later Phases

In the later phases, one might develop the following symptoms of ovarian cancer. Those symptoms might include the following:

• Weight loss
• Indigestion and bloating
• Pain and swelling in the back
• Dermatomyositis (in rare cases)
• Extreme exhaustion and fatigue
• Irregularities in the menstrual cycle
• Experiencing pain in sexual intercourse
• Problems in eating and lack of appetite
• Constipation and irregularities in bowel movement

Severe Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Sometimes the severity of cancer can become deadly enough and be like the following:

• Ascites or gathering of fluid in the abdomen.
• Problems in bowel movement that might end up to bowel obstruction due to indigestion.
• Pleural effusion, a condition where a fluid- like substance gets accumulated in the patients’ lungs that might causes issues like problems in breathing, cough, or pain in the chest.

Causes of Ovarian Cancer

There are certain causes that might lead to the development of ovarian cancer. Some of them are listed here as follows:

• Lifestyle disorders.
• Presence of carcinogenic genes in family traits.
• Lack of proper nutrition and not maintaining a balanced diet.

Different Types of Ovarian Cancer:

• Epithelial carcinoma of the ovary: The most common type among women but has no prior symptoms in the early stages, this cancer variation occurs mostly due to genetic re- combinations and to women who have ovarian cancer, colon or breast cancer in their family traits.

• Germ cell cancer of the ovary: This is the severe kind of ovarian cancer where the cancer develops in the germ cells or the cells that form eggs during pregnancy. When this type of cancer develops, the tumor might produce HCG or human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that is only found in the female body when there is a development of an embryo in the womb. This type of cancer, if developed within the body, needs immediate diagnosis and treatment by your health care experts. Chemotherapy is the most suggested method of treating this type of cancer.

• Stromal cell cancer of the ovary: This type of cancer develops in the stromal cells of the ovaries that make up the internal portions of the organs. This type of ovarian cancer is quite rare but can be treated if detected in the early stages.

The Various Stages of Ovarian Cancer

Though there are primarily 4 distinct stages of every type of cancer, and so is for ovarian cancer, one must know the factors based on which doctors and health care experts have divided the cancer development into these stages. The factors are as follows:

• Severity of the cancer.
• The size and growth rate of the lump.
• Rate of spreading of the cancer into the surrounding areas.
• The condition of the cancer and to what extent it is treatable.

The stages of ovarian cancer are as follows:

• Stage 1 cancer is the initial stage of the cancer when the disease has just developed.
• Stage 2 cancer is within the pelvic region.
• Stage 3 cancer is now taking a severe turn and it has gradually start spreading into the abdominal tissues.
• Stage 4 cancer is the stage where the cancer has a little chance to recover, and the cancer cells now have spread to almost all the major organs of the body.

Diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer

There are certain methods that are usually followed by oncologists and health care experts to treat and diagonise ovarian cancer. Some such steps are listed here as follows:

• Transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS).
• Blood test to measure cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels.
• Biopsy: A biopsy is done to study the development of cancer.
• Abdominal and pelvic CT scan. If you are allergic to dye, they may order a pelvic MRI scan.
• Chest CT scan: To know whether the cancer has spread into the lungs and whether there is a fluid accumulation there.
• Positron Emission Tomography or (PET) scan: That uses a dye that is applied or injected to show whether the organs are in proper conditions and whether they are working correctly.

Ways of Treating Ovarian Cancer

Treatment and diagnosis of cancer are the two major steps that your health care experts and concerned physicians can take to make you free from ovarian cancer. There are some methods that are to be followed to treat ovarian cancer. They are as follows:

Side Effects of Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Though the methods of treating ovarian cancer are quite safe and do not profusely affect the health, there are still certain minor side effects of chemotherapy and surgery. Some of them are as follows:

• Fatigue
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Hair loss, might make the head go bald
• Nausea, that may or may not be accompanied by vomiting

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