Important Facts About Ovarian Cancer All Women Should Know About

Causes And Risk Factors

No exact causes have been found or connected to ovarian cancers; however, some risk factors may play a role in susceptibility to the disease. Women over the age of fifty have a higher chance of developing ovarian cancer, and it has been reported that approximately fifty percent of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in women over sixty. Another risk factor is if the patient has a family history of ovarian cancer, breast cancer or colon cancer as they can all increase the odds of getting ovarian cancer. Women who have never given birth, women who began menstruating before twelve years old or reached menopause after fifty are both at higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. Other risk factors include smoking, obesity, use of intrauterine devices and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Treatment And Prevention

For some women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer at an early stage, surgery is the only treatment that is needed. However, there are many ways to treat ovarian cancer, the best treatment depends on each case, respectively. Treatment depends on where the cancer is located, what stage it is, the type of cancer and the general health of the patient. The primary treatments for ovarian cancers are chemotherapy and surgery. Most patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer will need to undergo a combination of surgery and chemotherapy, sometimes a few chemotherapy treatments, before and after the surgery.