Whenever we talk about cancer among women, people are always worried about breast cancer. Due to the fact that is remains as the number one cancer affecting women, many fear it. But did you know that ovarian cancer is harder to detect? Not only that, it also sadly happens to be the fourth most common cancer amongst Malaysian women.
WHAT IS OVARIAN CANCER?
Ovarian cancer is a cancer that affects the female reproductive system, the ovaries. When pregnancy occurs, the egg travels from the ovary through the fallopian tube into the uterus, where the fertilized egg settles and eventually becomes a baby. When cancer develops in ovarian cells, it is known as ovarian cancer. Typically, it affects women aged 40 to 60 years.
Find out more about ovarian cancer from our article here.
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS CAUSING OVARIAN CANCER?
The cause of ovarian cancer is still unknown. There are several risk factors for women to look out for.
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- Women who have never been pregnant
- Women who do not have many children
- Mature pregnancy
- Family history of ovarian cancer
- High fat diet
- Menstruation begins early or late menopause
- Endometriosis (a condition in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside or outside the uterus)
- Menopausal hormone therapy which is taking estrogen
- Personal history of cancer, especially breast, uterine, colon, or rectal
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF OVARIAN CANCER?
Recently, the Ministry Of Health (MOH) posted symptoms of ovarian cancer on their official Instagram account to create awareness among people.
The writer hopes this article would be helpful for women out there in a bid to create awareness on ovarian cancer.
Want to know more about it? Keep up with Varnam Malaysia as we will be sharing on matters pertaining to ovarian cancer treatments, do’s and don’ts in managing ovarian cancer in our next article.!
