This month of September marks National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among women, with as many as 250,000 women impacted by the illness. Most of us are familiar with breast and lung cancer. However, not enough awareness is being spread about ovarian cancer, which affects the female organs where eggs are produced. In this post, let’s examine the five most important things you must know about your ovarian health during this month and throughout the year.
How is Ovarian Cancer Detected Early?
The first important thing to know about your ovarian health is understanding how ovarian cancer is detected early. Catching cancer early usually helps most patients have more treatment options. Cancer also doesn’t progress quickly to Stage 4 when caught early. Doctors use various methods to detect other cancerous diseases such as breast and lung cancer. While there is no formal screening method for ovarian cancer, patients diagnosed with the illness may undergo regular pelvic exams, transvaginal ultrasounds, and a specific blood test.
If ovarian cancer is in your family, it’s even more important to get yourself examined by a doctor. Getting regular pelvic screenings could make all the difference in lowering your risk. You can take action to learn about possible mutations or gene errors you may have. By being well-informed about your risk of being diagnosed or not, you could put together a potential solid plan towards getting detected early.
What is the Number One Symptom of Ovarian Cancer?
Of course, it’s important to be aware of the most common symptoms. Many women don’t experience symptoms of ovarian cancer until its later stages. However, there are still various important ones you must consider concerning this disease. Some of the ones that come to mind are bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. While these three are the easiest to overlook, these symptoms are also the most common ones of ovarian cancer. The number one of them all involves having pain or tenderness in your stomach. Doctors like to use an acronym called BEACH as a way for patients to remember ovarian cancer symptoms. This acronym stands for Bloating, Early satiety, Abdominal pain, Changes to bowel or bladder habits, and Heightened fatigue.
What are the Red Flags of Ovarian Cancer?
During National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, it’s important to educate yourself about the red flags of ovarian cancer illness. Besides pain and tenderness in your stomach, there are several red flags to watch out for. The more you know, the better it’ll be for you. Has your stomach been swollen? Maybe you’ve been finding yourself having no appetite or feeling full quickly after eating. If you have been finding yourself using the bathroom more frequently than usual, then those could be some potential signs. Talk to your doctor if you’ve been experiencing these symptoms.
What are your Treatment Options if Diagnosed?
After dealing with the unfortunate news of a diagnosis, you want to know what are your next steps for treatment. Whatever method of treatment your doctor recommends depends on the type of ovarian cancer you may have. They also examine the size of your cancer, where it is, and how much it has spread before deciding on the best option for you. With that being said, the most common forms of treatment for ovarian cancer are surgery and chemotherapy. Targeted medicines and hormone treatments are two other examples of treating ovarian cancer. During this National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, you’ll come to learn more about these options and which one is best for you and your family.
How Can I Prevent Ovarian Cancer Naturally?
The fifth and last important thing to know about your ovarian health involves knowing how to lower your risk for any cancerous disease. Currently, there is no definitive way to prevent ovarian cancer. Many women have one or more known risk factors such as personal or family history of cancer. However, maintaining a healthy body weight, a healthy, nutritious diet, and exercising regularly could also reduce your risk. Not being a user of cigarettes and other tobacco products and giving birth and breastfeeding before the age of 25 may also possibly lower your chances of being diagnosed.
What is the Survival Rate for Ovarian Cancer?
The current statistics concerning the survival rates are influenced by several factors. Some of these factors include the types of ovarian cancer- epithelial ovarian carcinoma, stromal cell tumor, or germ cell tumor, the age at diagnosis, and the cancer’s stage of diagnosis. According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, they monitored a large number of cases diagnosed between 2012 and 2018 and provided average survival rates. 93.1% of women diagnosed in an early stage are still alive five years after diagnosis, while 74.5% of women diagnosed in an intermediate stage are still alive. Only 30.8% of women diagnosed in a later stage are still alive after five years.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among women. Also known as the silent disease, it develops in the female organs that produce eggs. As many as 250,000 women are impacted by ovarian cancer each year. But when it’s detected early, 90% of women can be cured of this disease. During this National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, let’s continue to educate ourselves as women and help others diagnosed with this disease manage it to the best of their abilities.
Are you one of many women diagnosed with ovarian cancer? Perhaps you may know a family member or a close friend living with this condition. Feel free to share your experiences with living with this condition in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next strong woman you know.
