Do you know the symptoms of ovarian cancer? If someone asked you to list the symptoms right now, could you? If you were experiencing symptoms of ovarian cancer yourself, would you know?
You have noticed over the past few weeks that your abdomen has been more bloated, you feel full very quickly when eating, and you’ve had some changes in your bathroom habits. These subtle signs could actually be pointing to ovarian cancer. The problem is, these symptoms are not usually advertised as warnings of ovarian cancer and are symptoms that many women may experience from time to time.
Dr. Mark Dodson, a director of gynecologic oncology and professor at the University of Utah, sat down with a News4Utah channel anchor and explained the serious issue of women and ovarian cancer and the importance of knowing the symptoms and treatment options.
Ovarian cancer has one of the highest death rates for women. Higher in fact than the other reproductive cancers put together. With this staggering death rate, it may be surprising to know that ovarian cancer only accounts for about three percent of cancers among women. The main reason for this high death rate is because ovarian cancer is usually found at a very advanced stage. Because of late detection, it is often very difficult to cure because the tumor has spread. To read more about ovarian cancer, click here.
Dr. Dodson wants to make the earlier symptoms of ovarian cancer more well-known so it can be diagnosed early on and increase the chance of survival significantly.
If someone were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, hopefully early, then the most important step would be treatment which involves surgery.
Dr. Dodson recommends a gynecologic oncologist perform the surgery, because these kind of doctors are specialized in certain types of operations that make them more qualified than just a general ob/gyn, general surgeon, or even an urologist for an ovarian cancer surgery.
The best chance for survival after an ovarian cancer diagnosis is a very aggressive first surgery that removes the entire tumor; or at the very least greatly reduces the tumor and then chemotherapy can be used to do the rest and cure the patient.
In terms of advancing ovarian cancer treatment, specialists are studying therapies that can help them be more effective in ovarian cancer surgery and block a tumors pathway of growth. They are working on giving more individualized surgeries and treating each patient in a more effective and personalized way with fewer side effects.
Read original article here.
