Ovarian Cancer Research Paper

What Is Ovarian Cancer?

Christiana Herrera

University of La Verne Ovarian Cancer Ovarian cancer is a disease that occurs when there is an out-of-control growth of abnormal cells in the ovaries causing cancerous cells to be created. The ovaries are part of a woman’s reproductive system; this is where the main source of a woman’s female hormones are located and is also where the eggs are produced for reproduction. Ovarian cancer can spread throughout the body like other types of cancers but in most cases it stays in the abdomen and affects organs such as intestines, liver, and stomach.

Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer According to many sources, there are no symptoms in the early stages of ovarian cancer. But when symptoms do occur

Some risk factors linked to ovarian cancers are a high-fat diet, never having children or not having children until late in life, obesity, infertility, using fertility drugs but not becoming pregnant, starting your periods at a young age or going through menopause at an older than average age, use of talcum powder on the genital area, belonging to the Caucasian race or being of Jewish descent, and having a family history of ovarian or breast cancer ("Facts about OVARIAN CANCER," n.d.). Although most ovarian cancers are not inherited there is about 5 to 10 percent of ovarian cancers that do run in families meaning if one of you family members, especially in your immediate family, has ovarian cancer you have a higher risk of getting it.

Incidence and Morbidity of Ovarian Cancer Since ovarian cancer happens in the ovaries it can only occur in women due to the fact that men do not possess ovaries. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth as the cause of cancer death in women and is more common among Caucasian women age 63 years or older. A woman’s risk of getting invasive ovarian cancer in her lifetime is about 1 in 73but her chance of dying from invasive ovarian cancer is about 1 in 100. The American Cancer Society’s estimates for ovarian cancer in the

The main treatments for ovarian cancer include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and surgery. The top treatment for ovarian cancer patients is surgery. Depending on certain factors like how far it has spread, your health and if you hope to still have children or not determines how much and what type of surgery is available. Typically during the surgery a women’s ovary, either one or both, and/ or uterus is removed to rid of the cancer. Chemotherapy is when drugs enter the bloodstream through an IV or taken by mouth in a series of stages to kill cancerous cells or shrink tumors. Targeted therapy is a newer type of cancer treatment that uses drugs or other substances to find and attack cancer cells while doing little damage to normal cells. Radiation therapy is when they use radiation or high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. All these types of therapies come with different sides affects such as tiredness, nausea, diarrhea or loss of