ovarian cancer : Cancer of the Ovaries

Treatments and Risk Factors
The treatment for ovarian cancer varies according to a number of factors. For most women the first treatment is also a diagnostic procedure which involves surgery to determine the extent to which the disease has spread. As a result of surgery, the cancer will be staged.
Stages range from I to IV, with I being the earliest and IV being the most advanced stage. Treatment of ovarian cancer is based on the stage and grade of the disease. A pathologist will determine the grade (how likely it is to spread) of the malignancy.

Hysterectomy with salpingo- oophorectomy (removal the fallopian tubes and one or both ovaries) will most often follow a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Young women who still desire children and who have certain types of early ovarian cancer confined to one ovary may be able to have only the diseased ovary removed.

Chemotherapy or radiation will follow the hysterectomy based on individual patient cases.
Are You at Risk?
An immediate (mother, sister, or daughter) family member who has had ovarian cancer increases your risk of developing this disease about three times, giving you a five to seven percent risk of future ovarian cancer.
When the cause is genetic, ovarian cancer usually shows up a decade earlier in each successive generation. Are You at Risk?
An immediate (mother, sister, or daughter) family member who has had ovarian cancer increases your risk of developing this disease about three times, giving you a five to seven percent risk of future ovarian cancer.

When the cause is genetic, ovarian cancer usually shows up a decade earlier in each successive generation. (If your mother had ovarian cancer in her 60's, you stand a good chance that this disease will develop in you in your 50's.)


Genetic counseling is a good idea for women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancers. Women with a family history may opt for oophorectomy, although this procedure does not offer absolute protection it does reduce risk by 75 to 90 percent.


Research has determined that women who use powders to dust their genital areas have a 60 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer. Feminine deodorant sprays can almost double your risk!

Women who use oral contraceptives for at least five years reduce their chance of developing ovarian cancer by half for the short-term following use and possibly for lifetime. The longer you use the pill, the lower your risk.

Having two or three children can cut your risk by as much as 30 percent over women who never conceive or give birth. Having five or more children reduces the risk up to 50 percent, and breast-feeding your children can further reduce your risk.

Tubal ligation reduces a woman's risk up to 70 percent.

From Tracee Cornforth,