Ovaries are the small, ovoid structures on either side of the uterus. Whenever we talk about cancers in women, we must be aware of masses or tumours – benign and malignant, of the ovaries. Although cancers of the ovary are the fifth most common cancer in women after breast, colorectal, lung and uterus; they are the most common cause of death in women due to cancer. Women with ovarian cancer have the least 5 year survival rate as compared to all other cancers. This is because cancer of the ovaries is a ‘silent killer’ – 70% of ovarian cancer is diagnosed in advanced stages, which means that the disease is already widely spread in the abdomen by the time it is diagnosed.
Cancer
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, making it a significant health concern. Any woman can get breast cancer but there are some women who are more likely to develop it than others. Age is a major identifiable risk factor and more than 80% of breast cancers occur in women more than 50 years of age. It does occur in younger age groups but is rare in women less than 30 years. The chances of developing breast cancer at age 40 are one in 217, at age 50 they are one in fifty and at age 85 they are one in eight. The other risk factors in your check list should be: any family member with breast or ovarian cancer, male family member with breast cancer,