About half of all ovarian cancers occur after age 65. The ovaries are small reproductive organs located on either side of the uterus and deep inside the pelvis. Ovaries make female hormones and grow eggs inside tiny follicles. When an egg is mature, the follicle ruptures, the egg breaks through the covering of the ovary, is released into the fallopian tube and heads toward the uterus. If sperm fertilizes it, the fertilized egg makes its way to the uterus, attaches to the uterine lining and grows into a baby.
New cells grow to replace the damaged ones.
Occasionally, an abnormal cell is generated and that cell can eventually become a malignant cancer cell. Researchers, however, still aren't sure what triggers the growth of these abnormal cells. They do agree that women who ovulate less during their lifetime do less damage to their ovaries and have a lower risk for epithelial cancer. For example, women who take oral contraceptives don't ovulate. Studies show women who have taken the pill for more than 10 years are 50 percent less likely to get ovarian cancer than those who haven't.