Ovarian cancer

**Ovarian cancer** is cancer that involves different regions of the ovary. The female reproductive system usually contains two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. Changes that happen in the Fallopian tubes may be related to the cancer. Other types of ovarian cancer involve egg cells. 

Ovarian cancer is a particularly difficult cancer for at least four reasons: 

# It usually does not have early signs (symptoms)
# The symptoms that may eventually occur are the same symptoms that can happen with many other very common medical problems
# Ovarian cancer often starts spreading to other parts of the body (metastasis) very soon after it starts 
# There are no truly useful ("efficacious") screening methods (tests) for ovarian cancer 

The result is that when it is found, this cancer is often already at a late stage, meaning it has existed for some time and is very difficult to treat. A woman's risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 87. Worldwide, there are more than 313,000 new cases of ovarian cancer every year. 

The risk of having ovarian cancer increases with age and decreases with pregnancy. It is more common in white women than in black women. There is strong evidence that being tall, or being overweight or obese increases the risk of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death for females in the United States. The rate of ovarian cancer deaths has fallen by 40% since 1975. Most of this change has happened since the mid-2000s. after finding its way into the bloodstream. A type of cancer that spreads is called an invasive cancer. Common areas to which the cancer may spread include the lining of the abdomen, lymph nodes, lungs, and liver. Only 20 percent of ovarian cancers are found before it spreads beyond the ovaries.

When ovarian cancer starts, there may be no symptoms (signs that there is something wrong.) Symptoms may be noticed more as the cancer progresses. but it can happen at any age. It is also more common in women who have ovulated (released an egg from one of the ovaries, which usually happens about two weeks before the start of the menstrual period) more times over their lifetime. This includes those who have never had children, those who began ovulation at a younger age and those who reach menopause at an older age. Other things that increase the risk include taking hormone drugs after menopause, fertility drugs, and obesity. High consumption of total, saturated, and trans-fats increases ovarian cancer risk A 2006 study involving 13,281 women found the greatest risks among foods were for meat and cheese. Eating meat once a week rather than not at all more than doubled the risk for a common type of ovarian cancer occurring after menopause. Eating cheese twice a week rather than once a week also doubled the risk. Both meat and cheese are healthy to eat as part of a balanced diet, but they are also high in saturated fat. These findings suggest that women follow the general advice to not eat foods that are high in fat, especially animal fats which are usually saturated fats. Other studies have found similar results. A 2002 study said the data "suggest that a diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, but less animal fat, salted vegetables, fried, cured and smoked food, contribute to a lower risk of ovarian cancer." A 2021 review of other studies found that coffee, egg, and fat intake increase the risk of ovarian cancer. Note, however, that coffee may lower the risk of some other types of cancer. 

Things that lower the risk include hormonal birth control (commonly called "the pill"), tubal ligation (a surgical type of birth control commonly known as having one's "tubes tied", in which the fallopian tubes are permanently blocked, cut, or removed), pregnancy, and breast feeding.

### Commonality 
The incidence rate (the percent of women getting this cancer) fell by 1% to 2% per year from 1990 to the mid-2010s and by almost 3% per year from 2015 to 2019. This is probably due to more use of oral contraceptives (hormonal birth control often called "the pill") and less use of hormone therapy to treat symptoms of menopause. Elective means the surgery is a choice. Salpingo means the fallopian tubes. Oophorectomy means removal of one or both ovaries (in this case, both.) If the woman is close to the age when menopause usually occurs, the choice may be simple. If the woman is several or many years away from the age when menopause would naturally occur, the decision is much more difficult. For younger women having their ovaries removed, these risks can be lowered with immediate and continuous estrogen treatment until at least age 50.

Ann Dunham, the mother of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, died of ovarian cancer on November 7, 1995 at age 52. Her ovarian cancer was a secondary cancer, which had started as uterine cancer. The worries she had about health insurance coverage for her hospital bills pushed President Obama to fight for health insurance reform, commonly known as Obamacare. 

## Related pages 
* Breast cancer
* Ovarian cyst, cervical cancer
* Lung cancer 

## References