Cancer – Ovarian
Women desperate for pregnancy may be setting themselves up for cancer if they take fertility drugs. Mary Rossing, PH.D. and colleagues at the University of Washington at the Cancer Research Center found that women taking fertility drugs had 2-1/s times the normal risk of developing ovarian cancer, especially ling-term use of the drug clomiphene, at the Stanford University school of Medicine found a threefold greater risk of ovarian cancer among women using fertility drugs.
Ovarian cancer is thought to stem from genetic mistakes that occur as cells divide to repair the ovary after it ruptures to release an egg. Since pregnancy, which stops ovulation for months at a time, has been shown to greatly reduce the chances of a woman developing ovarian cancer, it stands to reason that anything that stimulates ovulation will have the opposite effect.
This genetic defect, by the way, may be corrected through good nutrition. All the illnesses that befall us are caused or influenced by genes. Just because you are born with faulty genes, does not mean you have to live with them. The fact is, the body has enzymatic machinery designed to destroy and repair faulty nuclear DNA (genes). This offensive line depends on good nutrition for optimum performance. Emanuel Cheraskin, M.D., says, "think of the gene as the seed, the environment as the soil. You can grow a healthy plant in good soil even if you start out with a weak seed."
A friend told me they recently discovered the gene for being overweight. "It was discovered at the bottom of a container of Haagen Daz ice cream," she laughed.
The consumption of dairy products has been connected to a higher-than-normal incidence of cancer. In 1989, Gynecologist Daniel Kramer at Harvard Medical School in Boston linked galactose consumption with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Galactose has been found to be toxic to human eggs, it may be that it somehow interferes with our enzymatic offensive line.
If you want to avoid ovarian cancer, do not eat fatty foods, and concentrate of fresh, whole vegetables. Harvey Risch, M.D., Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine found that the bad cholesterol-raising properties of Tran fatty acids, saturated fat an eggs increased a woman's chances of getting ovarian cancer. He found eating vegetable fiber decreased the risk as it decreased the cholesterol. He concluded that reducing the intake of saturated fat and consuming more vegetables appears to lower the risk of ovarian cancer. If your cholesterol is high and you are concerned about cancer, take aged garlic extract.
Stage 2 Ovarian Cancer – How Leg Pain Saved My Life
I had never given a thought to ovarian cancer, and why would I? When it comes to gynecological cancers you hear about breast cancer all the time but you never hear much at all about ovarian cancer. I probably heard the words before at some point but until I was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian cancer I was pretty ignorant of signs and symptoms and had no idea what to look for.
As it turned out, I had probably been having early warning signs for some time, possibly years, but I attributed them all as just regular old signs of getting a little older and entering that time in life where different things start to bother you or basically fall apart, kind of like a car that is reaching the end of your warranty. You know how that goes, your warranty runs out and you're in the repair shop every other week.
So I had been having typical symptoms such as indigestion (never had that before), bloating, change in menstrual periods (heavier), and some pelvic pain right AFTER my periods. It was really a strange symptom I thought because it wasn't right along with that time of the month but a few days after. But then it would go away and I would just figure, you know, getting older, etc.
But then I started having this annoying leg pain. It was sort of a radiating pain, so I figured it must be something to do with a nerve. Sciatica? I didn't think so because it didn't follow the usual M.O. for that type of nerve pain. Maybe a muscle strain? Fibroids? Yes, that was it, I decided, fibroids. I researched all the symptoms and everything added up! A huge fibroid must be pressing on my sciatic nerve and causing this intolerably aggravating leg pain. I made an appointment with my gynecologist and she agreed, yes, that must be it.
She sent me for an ultrasound where a large mass was seen, so I was immediately sent to a gynecologic oncologist. This is the best person for ANY type of GYN problems that are out of the norm because these doctors are very specialized, but it is very scary to be sitting in the oncologist's office wondering if you may have cancer. As soon as I had my exam, my doctor scheduled surgery, and soon! My surgery was done 6 days later and the diagnoses was stage 2 ovarian cancer. I was then scheduled to begin chemotherapy. I did not want to hear this! All I could think of was losing my hair. In the grand scheme of things this is such a small thing, but believe me, when you are faced this it just seems so awful and dreadful.
But there was good news hidden inside all of the bad, and that was that I ONLY had stage 2 ovarian cancer and not a later stage which is most often diagnosed (due to the fact that no one realizes they are having any symptoms to be worried about).
I am happy to say I made it through it all and am now cancer free. I do believe though that if I had not had the leg pain I would NOT have gone to the doctor anytime soon, probably not for quite some time, as my symptoms were just so nonspecific and seemingly very benign, and my disease may have gone unnoticed and kept growing. So please do heed your body's communication with you and if you have anything going on that seems really out of the ordinary, have it checked out by a doctor.
Ovarian Cancer Symptoms
Cancer of the ovary, a disease affecting one of both of the ovaries, is one of the most serious and under-recognized ailments affecting women. In United States, it is considered as the fifth among the most fatal gynecologic cancers (affecting the female reproductive organs). It is said that in every 57 women, one may be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and almost half of those women diagnosed with the said cancer may die in a span of five years.
Ovarian Cancer: Overview
Ovarian cancer is characterized by the malignant growth of one or of the two ovaries. The cells in the ovary multiply progressively and abnormally to the point that they can no longer be controlled. As a result, excessive tissues start to form tumors, which may be benign or malignant. The malignant ones are those that cause cancer.
The growth of the tumor may not necessarily start from the ovary or the ovaries, but may have spread to the ovary from other parts of the body, oftentimes the breast. The malignant tumor in the ovary may likewise spread to other parts of the body. The most common cases of ovarian cancer arise from epithelial cancer, which affect the epithelial cells (cells found in the tissues covering surfaces of the ovary).
Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer
It is important for women to be aware of the nature and symptoms of ovarian cancer as this deadly cancer can affect women of any age. However, women face higher risk of ovarian cancer as she gets older, particularly after she reaches the age of fifty.
Most of the time, the symptoms of ovarian cancer do not show up until the cancer is widespread or in its advanced stage. This makes a woman at higher risk since it can be too late before she may be able to detect symptoms of ovarian cancer. Moreover, there are only very few symptoms of the cancer, which may be mistaken as symptoms of other health conditions.
The very first symptom of ovarian cancer is vague abdominal discomfort and bloating, which is caused by the excess fluid in the abdominal cavity. One always feels full even when she has not eaten much. As time passes by the swelling of the abdomen intensifies that some of your clothes may no longer fit you. Usually, it is because of this unusual swelling (way different from a woman's monthly water retention) that most women go to the doctor for check up.
Bloating is accompanied by digestive disturbances, unexplained changes in the bowel habits and urinary patterns. There are frequent trips to the bathroom even in the absence of a urinary tract infection or other health problems. One may feel nauseous, very tired and she may feel like vomiting at times. She may also feel discomfort and pain during an intercourse.
Pain and swelling in the pelvic area is also noticeable upon closer physical examination. This is due to the swelling in the pelvis. In very rare instances, a woman in her postmenopausal stage experiences abnormal bleeding.
Other vague and non-specific symptoms of ovarian cancer include back and leg pain, loss of appetite, undernourished appearance, weight gain or weigh loss, and unusual bleeding in the vagina (heavier and longer than the usual menstrual bleeding).
Detecting Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer
Screening is a way to detect the symptoms of ovarian cancer. The earlier the patient is screened, the better so as to decrease the mortality and morbidity of ovarian cancer. One of the most effective ways to detect the cancer in its early stage is through pelvic and rectal exam.
How Much Do You Known About Ovarian Cancer
In recent times, ovarian cancer, otherwise referred to as cancer of the ovary has made a popular entry into the Nigeria's medico-media lexicon. This is especially so after the death of Mrs. Mariam Babaginda, the beautiful wife of the former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babaginda, and founder of the Better Life Program, who died a few weeks back in the US while receiving treatment for ovarian cancer. She was said to have battled this disease for about ten years before she finally lost the battle to this not-so-uncommon cancer at the age 60.
In general, ovarian cancer of the ovary is commoner in woman over the age of 50 (the late Marain's age bracket) and it is no respecter of wealth, race or creed. It is as common among the poor as it is with the rich.
WHAT ARE OVARIES?
Under normal circumstances, women have two ovaries, one on either side of the womb (uterus) in the lower portion of the abdomen. Ovaries are small in size, round and shaped like a walnut. The ovaries function as the egg making organs in woman. In fertile woman, each month an egg (ovum) is released from one of the ovaries. After it is release from the ovary, the egg passes down the fallopian tube into the uterus where it may get fertilized by a sperm leading to a pregnancy. If it is not fertilized, it is shed off with the menses.
Another function of the ovaries is to make hormones especially the main female hormones oestrogen and progesterone- which have various effects on other parts of the body and are major regulators of the menstrual cycle.
...AND CANCER?
Cancer is a disease of the cells in the body. Our body is made up from billions of tiny cells. Since, there are many different types of cell in the body; it is okay to note that there are many different types of cancer which arise from different types of cell. However, what all type of cancer have in common is that the cancer cells are abnormal often referred to as 'crazy' cell that multiply 'out of control' thus becoming thicker and bigger (often refer to as a 'lump' or 'growth') than the surrounding normal cells.
When these lumps or 'growths' are the types that invade and affect the functions of nearby normal tissue, they are referred to as malignant tumors or cancerous growths. Malignant tumors may also spread to other parts of the body. This happens if some cells break off from the initial/first lump often called 'primary tumour' and are carried in the bloodstream or other body fluids to other parts of the body. These small groups of cells may then multiply to form 'secondary' tumor (metastases) in their new deposited locations in the body. These secondary tumors may then growth, invade and damage nearby tissues and can spread again to other body parts.
Different cancers have different outlook, some are more serious than others and some are more easily treated than others especially if diagnosed at an early stage.
The point to note here is that cancer is not uniformly one condition. In each case it is important to know exactly which type cell has given rise to a cancer, how large it has become and whether it has spread, so as to determine the prognosis or outlook for the condition.
Cysts on Ovaries – Another Source of Ovary Pain and an Alternative Treatment
That stabbing pain on your left or right side, what is it? Abdominal pain in women can be so many things but most often it will be the result of cysts on ovaries. While painful, and potentially dangerous if a rupture occurs, they mimic the symptoms of other ailments such as fibroids and endometriosis. And of course in the back of every woman's mind is the fear of ovarian cancer.
It's common for cysts to appear on the ovary and most of them will resolve themselves and pass naturally over the next two menstrual cycles. However there are occasions when a single cyst, particularly dermoid cysts, will not pass but in fact will grow, sometimes up to 8 inches in diameter.
When a cyst gets too big or too heavy it may "fall over" the ovary much like a heavy flower may fall over a thin stem. When this occurs the ovary may be twisted and the blood supply cut off. That it turn will result in that sharp pain you feel.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or POS, is another instance where multiple cysts form on an ovary causing pain. While this is typically not as pronounced it is still a major discomfort. It can also interfere with the ovulation process and endanger fertility.
Both of these situations will require treatment. Unfortunately, today's treatment from medical professionals is limited to hormonal therapy and surgery. Both of these therapies have their down side particularly for women of child bearing age who still want children.
There is however, another solution. Modern medicine only addresses the immediate symptom of ovarian cysts and not the root cause. The formation of cysts is typically the result of a hormonal and insulin imbalance in the woman's body. This imbalance can be addressed and corrected by a change in diet and eating patterns. There are specific foods and drinks that when eliminated from diet, can make a remarkable impact on the shrinking of cysts.
In addition natural relaxation therapies such as herbal teas and warm baths can relax muscles, decrease inflammation and improve blood circulation further improving the body's balance.
Thousands of women who became literally sick of the recurring ovary pain have turned to natural treatments to cure ovarian cysts once and for all. If removing cysts on your ovaries is important to you, and you don't want to use birth control pills or surgery to accomplish the task, then you owe it to yourself to explore natural alternatives. Your body will thank you for it.
Ovarian Cancer Stages – What Do They Mean?
Ovarian Cancer is not as widely publicized as breast cancer, so many people are left searching online and through books for more information on symptoms, survival rates, warning signs, and stages. This article will break down the staging and explain what each different one means.
Stage 1: This of course is the earliest form of cancer. In this stage, cancer is found in one or both ovaries. It is further divided into the following sub-stages.
1A: 1 ovary involved, no ascites (fluid in the abdomen), no tumor on external surface.
1B: Both ovaries involved, no ascites, no tumor on external surface.
1C: Cancer is present in either one or both ovaries but with tumor on the surface, ascites, malignant cells in fluid or lining of abdomen.
Stage 2: This stage is also considered early. Most diagnoses are made in stages 3 and 4. One or both ovaries are involved, but cancer has spread to other pelvic regions.
2A: Extension to uterus and/or tubes.
2B: One or both ovaries and extension to other pelvic organs.
2C: Same as 2A or 2B but with addition of tumor on the surface of one or both ovaries, capsule rupture, or ascites.
Stage 3: Cancer tumor involving one or both ovaries with extension to the abdomen.
3A: One or both ovaries and extension to small area of abdomen.
3B: Metastasis or extension to the peritoneum, or abdominal cavity lining.
3C: Cancer in one or both ovaries, extension to peritoneum, involvement of lymph nodes.
Stage 4: Most advanced stage of disease. Distant metastases to other parts of the body beyond the abdomen such as liver and lungs.
Ovarian cancer diagnosis is usually made in the latter stages due to the disease's nonspecific symptoms. Studies have shown that only about 20% are diagnosed at stage I, 5% stage II, 58% stage III, and 17% stage IV. Routine checkups and being alert for early signs and symptoms are key.
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