ovarian cancer : Few women know ovarian-cancer risk factors

Only 15 percent of U.S. women are familiar with ovarian-cancer symptoms, and 82 percent have never discussed it with their doctors, a survey finds.

The national survey sponsored by the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition finds 54 percent of the women who have not spoken to their doctors about ovarian cancer do not think it's an issue because the doctor never initiated the discussion.

Fifty-nine percent of women have talked to their doctor about breast cancer, compared to only 18 percent of women who have talked to their doctor about ovarian cancer.

Forty percent of the women are not sure of the risk factors, and many incorrectly identified the use of high-dose estrogen without progesterone and extended use of the birth-control pill as risk factors.

In fact, women who have used oral contraceptives for three or more years have about a 30-percent to 50-percent lower risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Sixty-seven percent of women incorrectly believe that a yearly Pap test is effective in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.


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