Statistics reveal that ovarian cancer is the eighth most common form of cancer in women with almost 22,000 women being diagnosed with it every year. It is also the fifth leading cause of death from cancer, being responsible for the deaths of about 15.000 American women every year.
Ovarian cancer has been linked to the number of times a woman ovulates and has her menstrual periods. Fewer menstrual periods are associated with a lower risk of developing this cancer. This factor accounts for the link between ovarian cancer and pregnancy. Since a woman does not ovulate during her pregnancy, being pregnant reduces the risk of developing ovarian cancer. The more pregnancies she goes through, the less is her risk of developing this condition.
Other factors that increase the risk for ovarian cancer include:
Other factors that decrease the risk for ovarian cancer include:
The symptoms of ovarian cancer were thought to appear only in the advanced stages, one of the reasons why this form of cancer has such a high mortality rate. Today we know that early stage symptoms are present though difficult to detect.
These symptoms include:
The American Cancer Society recommends that you should consult a gynecologist if you have any of these symptoms on a daily basis for a few weeks or more. This will help in making an early diagnosis and increases the chances of survival.
An early diagnosis is essential to a favorable outcome since the cancer progresses rapidly from the early to the advanced stages. For this reason, women need to pay careful attention to any symptoms that may occur. A delay in diagnosing the condition will lead to a delay in treatment and will make for a poor prognosis.
Diagnosing ovarian cancer during pregnancy can be a tricky affair since the symptoms are similar to and may be attributed to the pregnancy.
The gynecologist may order pelvic imaging tests and blood tests to confirm the diagnosis. Should these tests indicate cancer, the services of a gynecologic oncologist will be sought.
Treatment will depend on two factors, the stage of the cancer and the month of pregnancy. Ovarian cancer is classified into 4 stages depending on whether the cancer has remained confined to the ovaries or has spread to the surrounding tissue. Surgery is usually the preferred choice of treatment and chemotherapy may be used afterwards to treat the more advanced cancers.
For the gynecologic oncologist, the decision on the type of treatment will have to take into account two factors. These are the stage of the cancer and the pregnancy. The oncologist may chose to defer treatment until after the mother has delivered. This will be done only if the oncologist feels that deferring treatment will not adversely affect the prognosis. The mother’s wishes in this regard will also have to be considered with her decision being final.
The oncologist may also choose to proceed with chemotherapy, again with the mother’s consent. However, chemotherapy during the first trimester may result in severe birth defects. Under such circumstances, a termination of pregnancy is advisable.
If the pregnancy is allowed to proceed, the oncologist will choose a chemotherapy agent after taking into account its effects on the fetus. Chemotherapy that is initiated during the second or third trimester will have less of an adverse effect on the fetus.
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