Ovarian cancer is a silent killer and is one of the deadliest threats
to women’s health. The American Cancer Society says that about 20,180
American women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year alone.
Every woman faces a risk of 1:57 risk of getting ovarian cancer in her
lifetime.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are not perceptible until the cancer
becomes widespread and critical, which explains why thousands of women
die of this dreaded disease every year. Although ovarian cancer is
treatable, in most instances, it is detected late causing complications
and death to ovarian cancer patients.
Since to date there is no sure and effective way to diagnose or detect
ovarian cancer in its early stage, specialists, research groups and
cancer advocacy groups and the government organizations are doing every
ovarian cancer research work they can to finally shed light into the
gray areas of this deadly disease. Some organizations provide grants
for those willing and interested to conduct an ovarian cancer research.
Among the most prominent organizations that promote awareness on
ovarian cancer is the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. It was formed
in 1997 by seven ovarian cancer advocacy groups who joined forces to
strengthen efforts to promote ovarian cancer education.
Ovarian cancer research teams probe into several areas of ovarian
cancer including its symptoms (both in the early and the latter stage),
stages, risk factors, prevention, risk reduction, and treatment, with
the aim of increasing awareness on this cancer. Knowledge on the said
areas can be a woman’s greatest protection against this cancer.
However apart from the fact that there are many information gaps that
still need to be filled, ovarian cancer researches are conducted in
response to this cancer’s high mortality rate. In the United States,
ovarian cancer is the fifth among the gynecologic cancers that place
women at the brink of death. Over 50% of all women diagnosed with the
disease are about to die within a period of five years, researches
show. It is with this fact that ovarian cancer research groups are
exerting their best effort to uncover hidden truths about ovarian
cancer.
Most ovarian cancer researches reveal that women with ovarian cancer
show the following symptoms: persistent and baffling gastrointestinal
discomfort, nausea, digestive disturbances, bloating or swelling of the
abdomen, pain in the abdominal and pelvic area, fatigue, frequent
urinating, and abnormal bleeding during the postmenopausal stage.
A recent ovarian cancer research conducted by University of California
shows that more than one-third of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer
have shown the symptoms at least four months before they have been
diagnosed with the cancer; hence, there’s a good chance that ovarian
cancer can be diagnosed earlier.
Researchers explained that the reason why the cancer is detected only
when it’s already in its advanced state is that doctors do not perform
tests that could possibly diagnose the cancer immediately. Doctors
would usually have the patients undergo abdominal imaging and some
gastrointestinal procedures, which they say re not that effective in
diagnosing this disease.
Other ovarian cancer research works are concerned about improving
treatment of ovarian cancer and preventing this disease. Many clinical
studies are conducted to carefully analyze a drug’s potential in
preventing high-risk women from developing ovarian cancer and in
treating those in the early and latter stages of the cancer.
