Health Guidance

Like all cancers, there is no permanent and full cure for cancer. After entering the period of remission, there are always risks of going into relapse and battling the few cells that were not affected by therapy. No one method works fully on ovarian cancer and so it requires a combination of varied ways to achieve a successful ovarian cancer treatment. These methods are of three kinds, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Along with medicines, these three can be used during different stages of cancer to produce results.

Close to every patient that suffers from ovarian cancer will undergo surgery during the process of treatment. Depending on which stage the cancer stands, surgery can be either limited to removing as many cells as possible to complete removal of the ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus. This is known as a hysterectomy and gives a full chance of recovery with very little risk of relapse due to guaranteed removal of all tumorous tissue in the body. However, if the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries and uterus, then more invasive surgery would be required with a heavy dosage of drugs to ensure that no cells remain in the body. The removal of the womb and the lymph nodes of the body which have been affected by cancer is known as an oophorectomy. It is undertaken when trying to remove as much cancerous tissue from the body as possible. This form of ovarian cancer treatment works best with younger women and middle aged ones since their bodies can take heavy surgery without much trauma. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer Treatment’ »

As a survivor of both breast and colon cancers, I want to always bring cancer awareness to the general public. While I have not had ovarian cancer nor known anyone close to me who has, I was struck to realize how easily the symptoms of this horrible disease can be mistaken for minor health problems. Don’t take chances with your life, if you or someone you love shows any of the symptoms listed below, please go to your gynecologist and explain your symptoms.

Ovarian cancer is often known as the silent disease because so many women don’t realize they have it until it’s too late. As a cancer survivor, I always want to take advantage of getting any cancer information out to the public. According to Mark Messing, M.D., a gynecological oncologist with the Baylor Health Care System in Texas, some of the earliest signs of ovarian cancer are:

* Bloating
* Pelvic pain
* Abdominal pain
* Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
* Changes in urinary or bowel functions Continue reading ‘Be Aware of the Early Warning Signs of Ovarian Cancer’ »

Radiation therapy for ovarian cancer is a long recognized tool in destroying the tumors that are threatening your life. Unfortunately, this realization does not make dealing with side effects of radiation therapy for ovarian cancer any easier. The most commonly reported side effects of this therapy are three fold:

1. Nausea. This is felt almost immediately after radiation treatments and may last as long as five to eight hours. In some cases the body may begin by having preemptive nausea when you are ready to go to a radiation treatment appointment and you will already feel queasy even before you set foot into the treatment center. While there is little that may be done to prevent the nausea, there are some steps that may make it a bit easier to deal with: first and foremost, consider eating only bland foods sparingly on the day of your therapy appointment. Saltine crackers, Jell-O, or even thinned oatmeal may be sufficient to keep you from being overly hungry and from keeping your stomach to give you too much trouble. In severe cases, your doctor may prescribe medication to control your nausea. Continue reading ‘Dealing With Side Effects of Radiation Therapy For Ovarian Cancer’ »

Ovarian cancer is known to be a silent killer. It takes the lives of close to 15,000 women across the United States each year and is usually difficult to detect. It is the leading cause of death among gynaecological cancers and the fifth among cancers of all kind. Much of the problem in providing adequate and fast treatment comes from the fact that it displays no tell-tale ovarian cancer symptoms to go by. Often enough, screening for cancer can fail at the first attempt and require multiple tests to provide a true positive result. Other than that, the early stages are very similar to other gynaecological problems that women display and are usually treated for the same. It can also be wrongly diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and treated for that, further postponing correct therapy for cancer.

There are certain documented ovarian cancer symptoms, which when occurring together for long periods of time can be a cause for alarm. The loss of appetite, unexplained weight gain or loss, swelling in the abdomen and general pain in the stomach region are the first indicators of a disorder. After which, any kind of persistent bowel related problems, such as frequent urination, diarrhoea, excessive gas and constipation are further symptoms. Along with these, pain during sexual intercourse and irregular vaginal bleeding other than the time of menstruation is the extreme symptoms that definitely call for an immediate screening for ovarian cancer. Under such circumstances, going in for a simple pelvic examination is the first step one should take for confirming that the symptoms are indeed likely to be indicative of another disorder. After which, a CA 125 blood test and a Transvaginal Ultrasonography are required. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer Symptoms’ »

Around 1.5 percent of women are likely to develop ovarian cancer at some stage of their life. It is less common than breast cancer but is considered as the most serious and fatal of all gynecological cancers.

The reason for this is that the cancer is usually advanced before it is diagnosed, making treatment difficult. The ovaries cannot be easily examined and, because the warning signs are unclear, late diagnosis is common.

Because of the lack of screening tests available, it is imperative to know the early symptoms and the possible risk factors.

Understanding ovarian cancer

The ovaries are two small organs that are a part of the female reproductive system and they are situated each side of the uterus. These ovaries contain germ cells that become eggs which are released when the woman menstruates.

They also produce estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that adjust the menstrual cycle and have an effect on the growth of breasts and body hair as well as affecting the development of the female body shape.

What types of tumors are there?

Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer – Don't Ignore the Warning Signs’ »

Once called a silent killer of women, ovarian cancer was considered to be symptom free up to the point that the cancerous growths had reach critical mass and most likely already spread to other organs. Diagnosis would then be made because of symptoms the other organ manifests, in turn leading doctors to the source of the problem, often times too late for many sufferers to undergo successful treatment.

Nevertheless, in recent years experts and researchers have determined that when comparing case studies of various patients presenting with ovarian cancer, across the board there appeared to be a general agreement about similar feelings of discomfort that took place well before the diagnosis. This has caused the medical industry to rectify its opinion of ovarian cancer and it is no longer considered a symptom free illness, but instead one that has symptoms so subtle that unless the patient knows what to look for, they are likely missed or attributed to other problems. Continue reading ‘Could it Really Be Ovarian Cancer?’ »

Ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cancer in women after lung, breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. It accounts for only three percent of cancer in women, and fortunately there has been a decline in incidence of this type of cancer by about 1% over the last twenty years. Unfortunately, diagnosis is usually late as there are very subtle and often protean symptoms and signs. Ovarian cancer is not just a cancer of old age, it can occur at any age, even infancy, however, the incidence of this cancer does rise significantly after the age of 50.

There are certain risk factors for ovarian cancer, chief amongst them is family history and some associated genetic syndromes. A blood relative with ovarian cancer raises the risk for their female relative by 5% for this cancer. There is a syndrome of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer which occurs in one out of every 500 women and being an autosomal dominant genetic disorder results in BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 gene mutation. The other is Lynch II syndrome a hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer syndrome, again autosomal dominant, which increases risk for ovarian cancer by 12%. However, the majority of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer have no family history and the etiology remains unknown. When ovarian cancer occurs and is not detected early when localized to one ovary, the cancer will usually spread to the unaffected ovary and uterus first, but can spread to the liver, lungs, adrenal glands, spleen and other intraperitoneal organs. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer (Ab Ovo)’ »

Those who are affected with ovarian cancer will often undergo chemotherapy as a form of treatment. Unfortunately, for most people chemotherapy has a number of unpleasant side effects. The good news for those suffering from ovarian cancer is that most of these side effects can be effectively controlled through the right medications. Consider some common side effects you can expect if you are undergoing chemotherapy.

Risk of Infection

As a result of chemotherapy a patient’s white blood cell count decreases which means the body is more prone to infection. If you are having a chemotherapy treatment and your temperature goes over 100.5 degrees or you feel suddenly sick without a temperature then you should talk to your doctor or contact the hospital right away. Before you undergo any chemotherapy session you will have a blood test done to check your white blood cell levels. If they are too low then you will have to postpone your treatment until the levels reach a safe level. Continue reading ‘Chemotherapy For Patients Suffering From Ovarian Cancer’ »

Cancer is a deadly disease all over the world, with very little known about curing it completely. One type of cancer that affects many women around the world is ovarian cancer. It has now become the fifth leading cause of death in cancer patients and leads the charts under all the gynaecological cancer deaths. Women of all demographics, races and ethnicities show risk factors for developing ovarian cancer. After one has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the first response is to affirm the ovarian cancer survival rates and life expectancy. These rates differ from patient to patient, but some common factors are the age, family history of disease and early diagnoses of the cancer.

As the age of a woman increases, so do the chances of her having ovarian cancer. Very few women below the age of 40 are seen to suffer from this, but it is not a complete rarity. However, ovarian cancer survival rates are much higher in young women that the elderly. Women under the age of 20 show the highest survival rates, with close to 99% of the women recovering fully from it. This changes almost minimally for women under the age of 30 with death rates climbing to 0.8%. With early screening of cancer, death rates decline rapidly and most women go on to live completely healthy lives. After the age of 35, with the onset of other gynaecological problems and lower chances of pregnancy, the survival rates take a slight dip; going down to some 96.8% and even lower if the cancer has advanced to stage III or IV. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer Survival Rates’ »

Natural and Alternative medicine has been getting notoriety in the treatment and prevention of cancer. Tea is the most well-known as a potential remedy. Continuing research shows the effectiveness of green tea in the prevention of heart disease as well as other forms of cancer.

The first indication of tea effectiveness is in the markedly low incidence of major diseases in the Asian regions. Those who are living in Asia typically imbibe large quantities of green tea and statistics show that they have a significantly lower risk or heart ailments as well as cancer. Particularly Japanese men, as opposed to American men have statistically lower risk of lung cancer and heart ailments though as much as 75 percent of them smoke cigarettes. Continue reading ‘Effective Against Ovarian Cancer – Green Tea’ »