Disease Early: The Benefits of Clinical Checkups

affected. The treatment of ovarian cancer has not yet been clearly defined and this has led to many people to live a miserable life. This draws my attention to address the issue since some people have ovarian cancer though they are not aware of it. Also, the low numbers of women who turns up for cancer screening are low thus the need for education to the people is there. This does not mean that this awareness targets only the women and the teenage girls who are affected but also the entire audience since ovarian cancer can affect all persons either directly or indirectly thus needed for everyone to acquire this knowledge.

There are three types of ovarian tumors: Epithelial ovarian tumors. This is the most common among women and currently, it accounts for 90% of all the registered cases of ovarian cancer. This type of cancer involves a tumor developing on the surface of the ovary which can be benign or even malignant. There are six of the epithelial ovarian cancer that have been found and they include; serious tumors, endometrial tumors, clear cell tumors, mucinous tumors, undifferentiated tumors and the transitional cell tumors.

Germ cell ovarian cancer refers to tumors that are said to originate from the cells in the ovary that usually develop into eggs whereby they account for 5% to 10% of the registered ovarian cancer cases and they mainly affect the younger women at the age of twenties. This can be successfully treated since most of these cell tumors are non-cancerous. Another type of ovarian cancer is the sex-cord stromal ovarian tumors which usually affect the connective cells which are responsible for holding

the ovaries together. They are slow in growth though not cancerous but affect women in all age groups thus accounting for 5% of cases of ovarian cancer. Lastly, primary peritoneal carcinoma is a type of cancer that is closely related to epithelium ovarian cancer though is not a type of ovarian cancer. It is diagnosed the same as ovarian cancer since the symptoms are the same. It develops from the cells around the pelvis though this is a rare type of cancer.

The causes of ovarian cancers are not yet clearly known but there are some risk factors that increase the susceptibility of a woman growing ovarian cancer. Age has been linked to high chances of getting ovarian cancer as one grows older whereby women who are over the age of 50 years have the highest risk thus the women who have undergone through menopause report many cases of ovarian cancer. Family history is yet another risk factor of getting ovarian cancer in women. This involves one having an inherited faulty gene which is often BRCA1 which is a mutation gene. Women with this mutation gene are at high risk of getting ovarian cancer. Another risk factor of getting ovarian cancer is weight in which an increase in weight also increases the chances of getting ovarian cancer. This means that obese people are at high risk of having cancer. Lastly, having endometriosis is usually associated with an increase in the chances of getting ovarian cancer.

The symptoms of a person who has developed ovarian cancer can be perceived by having, abdominal bloating, pressure and pain, abdominal fullness after eating, difficulty eating, increased urination and an increase urge

to urinate. Other symptoms may be fatigue, indigestion, heartburn, constipation, painful intercourse and menstrual irregularities. When someone experiences these symptoms does not necessarily mean that she has ovarian cancer since there are other diseases having the same symptoms. Sometimes, when these symptoms are treated they usually end up being persistent thus might be symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Teaching about ways of preventing ovarian cancer is necessary although there is no surest way on how to prevent it. Prevention will aid in reducing the chances of getting ovarian cancer. Screening for ovarian cancer helps one to recognize cancer at its early stages thus can be treated and controlled. Diet and lifestyle are also important when one engages in regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and staying healthy usually reduces the chances of getting ovarian cancer. The rapid growth of cells after menstruation can somehow go wrong and lead to ovarian cancer. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, contraceptive pills and hysterectomy can be used to reduce the chances of developing ovarian cancer.

Once a person has undergone through diagnostic tests, the cancer care team is the one responsible for recommending on which treatment option to be used. Surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and radiation therapy are the main methods used for cancer treatment whereby two or more methods can be combined in treatment for much better results. The general state of health and personal considerations among others are the determinants of the treatment methods to be used.

In conclusion, cancer is an alarming killer disease which should be addressed with great care. Everyone is either directly or indirectly affected thus there is a need for everyone to fight against cancer starting with

each individual. It is important that therefore everyone adapts to self-assessment in determining the early stages of cancer so that treatment can be easily administered and controlled. Everybody should be very conscious of the lifestyle and the diet that he/she adopts since cancer does not discriminate gender, religion, age and also race thus exposing everyone at risk of getting cancer.