5 Things You Need To Know About Ovarian Cancer

BAY SHORE, NY — This Sunday is World Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day.

While many people will be celebrating the special women in their lives, it's also important to care for their health and raise awareness about ovarian cancer.

Dr. Anze Urh, gynecologic oncologist at Northwell Health and South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, spoke with Patch about why it's important to catch symptoms of ovarian cancer early on, and what you can do to prevent a diagnosis.

Here are five things you need to know about ovarian cancer:

1. It's A Family Of Cancers

Ovarian cancer, Urh said, is actually a family of cancers, and represents fallopian tube cancers, ovarian cancer and primary peritoneal cancer.

Most ovarian cancers are actually fallopian tube cancers, he said, meaning a tumor will start in the fallopian tube.

"But because the fallopian tube is open to the abdomen, those cells very quickly, then attach themselves on top of the surface of the ovary, where they grow into a tumor," he said.

In cases of primary peritoneal cancer, a tumor starts in the lining of the abdomen. Fallopian tube cells are identical to cells in the lining of the abdomen, Urh said, and so it's hard to differentiate the two at first.

2. Ovarian Cancer Grows At An Alarming Rate

"When you look at a cancer inside the abdomen, it's fluid, and cells can move around anywhere inside the abdomen," he said.

According to the Louisa M. McGregor Ovarian Cancer Foundation, known as T.E.A.L., only 19 percent of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region. However, when ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92 percent.

Ovarian cancer cells can easily travel fast through abdominal fluid, he said, "all the way up behind the liver, kind of bathing" the entire abdomen and the internal organs.

"In a matter of months, you go from having a small tumor to having the cancer spread throughout the belly," Urh said.

For this reason, ovarian patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages, and only 45 percent survive longer than five years, according to T.E.A.L.

3. Risk Factors

The exact causes of ovarian cancer are still being researched. About 20 percent of patients are genetically predisposed to the disease, he said.

Another factor, Urh said, is what goes into the abdomen.

"Basically through the uterus and the fallopian tubes, you have direct access to the inside of the abdomen," he said. "There's bacteria, viruses, and certain chemicals in the environment or in the products that we use that can get inside our abdomens that way."

Other risk factors are not having children, or having children later in life, he said. People who take birth control for more than five years decrease a diagnosis by 50 percent. Those who have their fallopian tubes removed or have hysterectomies also drastically decrease their chances of developing ovarian cancer, Urh said.

4. The Symptoms Are Vague

The best thing a person with ovaries can do, Urh said, is to be aware of one's body. Symptoms can be very subtle, or even non-specific to the ovaries.

"They can be vague symptoms, like pelvic pressure or discomfort, abdominal girth increase, what's thought to be related to bowel dysfunction — or just have bloating."

If symptoms last for more than two weeks, Urh said it's crucial to see a doctor, since ovarian cancer tumors grow at a rapid rate.

Another big misconception is that you should seek medical treatment only if you're in pain.

"Pain is a sign of advanced cancer; most people who have cancer do not have any pain," he said. "Last week, for example, I took care of a patient who came through the emergency room because she had some pelvic pressure that was new, and wasn't going away. She couldn't get an appointment with her doctor for another two weeks, and she didn't want to wait."

Urh discovered that the patient had a large pelvic mass, which turned out to be Stage 2 ovarian cancer. Luckily, the tumor hadn't spread outside her pelvic area, he said.

"She had very, very vague symptoms," he said. "If she waited another three months, she probably would have Stage 3 or 4 cancer."

The survival rate for patients with Stage 2 ovarian cancer is 80 percent. But in cases of Stage 3 or 4 cancer, the survival rate is only about 20 percent, he said.

5. There Is No Official Screening

There is no official screening for ovarian cancer. Unlike other cancers, the tumors aren't confined to one space. Therefore, ovarian cancer is much more difficult to detect than other cancers.

However, Urh said that many researchers are in the process of creating an accurate detector.

"There's a lot of research being put into screening, such as a sort of combination of ultrasounds," he said. "Or different kind of markers, such as vaginally, where you insert a tampon, and then we test the it for different things."

About 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, Urh said. And about 14,270 women will die from the disease, according to T.E.A.L.

These new markers are still in the experimental phase, Urh said. So until a screening is deemed accurate, be sure to be take care of your body, be aware of your body, and encourage others to do the same, he said.

To learn more about T.E.A.L. and ovarian cancer, click here.