Ovarian Cancer In Women: Be Aware Of The Symptoms

The symptoms of ovarian cancer in women can be difficult to notice. Many people may put the signs down to something else. In the United Kingdom alone 7000 women a year are diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

If the cancer is diagnosed early the treatment may be more effective, the people more at risk of developing ovarian cancer are those aged 30+, and post menopausal women.
It is important for women to know that a cervical smear test, does not pick up on ovarian cancer, smear tests usually just look for abnormal cells that may be a sign of cervical cancer.
Some of the early signs that you may have ovarian cancer are;
- Constant pains in the abdomen, much like period pains
- Bloating of the stomach (not just after eating)
- Loss of appetite
- Frequent urination or having trouble urinating
- Bowel problems such as diarrhea or constipation
- Tiredness
- Pains in the back or neck
- Weight loss (only if it is unexplained)
As I stated above these symptoms can often be mistook for something else. Some women may feel abdominal pains before their period along with a bloated feeling.

Because symptoms of ovarian cancer in women can be like regular everyday problems for most, because of this delay the cancer can often spread. This makes treatment more intense and the success rate may be lower than that if the cancer was diagnosed earlier.
This cancer can sometimes be hereditary, if 2 or more members of your family have previously suffered with breast or ovarian cancer you should let your doctor know.

Some younger women often ignore the symptoms mentioned above, this may be because they feel that the cancer is a problem that only affects the older woman. It may be because they have no idea that the symptoms they are experiencing are like those for ovarian cancer.
If you are noticing any of the above symptoms on a daily basis, I urge you to seek advice from your doctor or other health professional. It may be nothing to worry about, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

It is not a very common form of cancer, more common forms are breast, cervical cancer in women or testicular cancer in men.
If you think you may be suffering with any of these symptoms then you should speak with your doctor as soon as possible, I urge you to do this for any symptoms, not just the ones I have mentioned above. If you have already spoken with your doctor, and your symptoms are getting worse, go back and ask your doctor for more accurate tests.

Ovarian Cancer In Women: Be Aware Of The Symptoms
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Cervical Cancer - Surgery Treatment

Cervical cancer is one of the leading cancers in women and it is said to be preventable if it is detected early. Girls of the age 11 and 12 can be given a vaccine and a pap smear test schedule for the prevention of cancer.

Women, at the age of 21, or within three years of the starting sexual activity, should start taking the Pap smear test and it should be repeated every two till the age of 30 and every 3 years thereafter.
Early detection of cancer can lead to its surgical removal and it is usually the most preferred way of treatment but not every woman has to undergo it. The different stages for the cervical cancer surgery are - Laser surgery, conization, cryosurgery, simple hysterectomy, radical hysterectomy and radical trachelectomy.

The first alternative is loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) which includes the usage of high frequency electrical current to cut and remove the diseased tissue. This procedure is done by administering local anesthetic to numb the cervix and a wire loop is inserted in the vagina. Tissue sample is removed for examination and deeper tissues are used to evaluate the endocervical canal.
The other alternative for cervical cancer surgery is laser surgery which uses a laser beam directed through the vagina instead of a knife to burn the abnormal cells or remove the tissues for biopsy.
Conization is also an option which is a surgical procedure which includes removal of a cone-shape tissue from the cervix and similar to LEEP, it uses a heated wire or a scalpel or laser, which is also known as cone knife cone biopsy. This one is beneficial as women's ability for pregnancies can be preserved in major cases.

Hysterectomy is an option which involves many kinds of procedures and it aims to eliminate the cancerous tissue by uterus removal. Those who try for pregnancy can be rest assured as the ovaries are intact after the hysterectomy procedure. If the woman cannot bear children even after ovaries are retained after hysterectomy, she would not go into premature menopause.

Women with cervical cancer usually have either a total (simple) hysterectomy or a radical hysterectomy. The total hysterectomy includes the removal of uterus and cervix but it leaves intact the vagina, lymph nodes and the parametrium. Radical hysterectomy, unlike simple hysterectomy, is the removal of uterus, cervix, parametrium and the supporting ligaments, upper vagina and the local lymph nodes (with a procedure called lymphadenectomy). If the fallopian tubes and ovaries are also removed with radical hysterectomy, the procedure is known as bilateral-salpingo-oopherectomy.

Cervical Cancer - Surgery Treatment
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Ovarian Cancer - What Is It?

Ovarian cancer is a common type of cancer that consists of cancerous growths on or around the ovary. Due to the organs that are affected, the illness is only present among women and features symptoms such as bloating, pelvic pain, constant urination, and decreased hunger. It is the second most common form of gynecological cancers, with just over eighty thousand patients being diagnosed with it each year.

Because of the subtle and common nature of the condition's symptoms, they're occasionally mistaken for symptoms of other diseases. This, along with the fact that most women do not experience any significant symptoms at all, usually leads to the condition not being diagnosed quickly enough. It is common practice to advice anyone who is complaining of regular constipation, stomach pain, or bloating to visit their physician as quickly as possible. If it is not diagnosed and treated in time, the disease can lead to more drastic issues such as colon obstructions and painful fluid in the pelvic area.
Because the disease is so common and life threatening, the American Cancer Society and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists put together some helpful pamphlets about its symptoms so women could be more informed. The statement stresses the importance of annual checkups and taking any one of the illness's four most common symptoms very seriously.

When ovarian cancer is properly diagnosed in its early stages, it is nearly ninety percent curable but that percentage drops dramatically as time goes on so it is very important for women to listen to their body.

As of now, the exact cause of the disease isn't yet known but there are a number of mitigating factors that can put you at a higher risk of contracting it. Examples of higher risk patients include women over the age of forty, those with relatives who suffer from the disease, those who have never given birth, and those who have undergone postmenopausal hormonal replacement therapies. Many of the factors such as infertility, endometriosis, and other types of cancers can be linked to genetics.
However, those who give birth to more babies, have their babies earlier in life, take certain contraceptive pills, and undergo tubal ligation surgeries are at a much lower risk of ever getting ovarian cancer.

As with any other form of cancer, the sooner that this particular disease is caught the better off a person will be towards making a total recovery, though due to the lack of official early screening tests, the disease unfortunately has a poor long-term prognosis. Roughly sixty percent of all girls who receive a diagnosis will be in stage four or three of the condition already.

A physician with a woman who is presenting with certain symptoms will quickly check for any other signs of this condition. This includes an in-depth pelvic exam, blood tests, and abdominal ultrasounds. If they find enough signs to unveil that a cancerous growth is there, they will then do an exploratory procedure in order to confirm it.

Ovarian Cancer - What Is It?
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Cervical Cancer And Hepatitis

SIGNS OF CERVICAL CANCER:
There are no signs of early cervical cancer. It is therefore necessary for every woman to have regular pap test. A woman with cervical cancer sometimes have example Unusual vagina bleeding including vaginal bleeding after menopause, spotting or discharge, pains during sex.

WHO IS AT RISK OF CERVICAL CANCER?
Men do not have cervical cancer, only Women are at risk of having cervical cancer. Women child bearing age and beyond.

PREVENTION OPPORTUNITY;
Regular screening for early detection using the pap test. Women should have regular pap smears from the age of 21 years or three years after the onset of sexual intercourse. Regular pap smears detect abnormalities of the lining of the cervix years before it progresses to cervical cancer many of this abnormalities can be tested if detected early. Correct and consistent use of condom may provide some protection against HPV.

Avoid risky sexual behaviors.
Human Papillona Virus[HPV] is a sexually transmitted virus and a major cause of cervical cancer. HPV comes by having multiple sex partners, having partners who have multiple sex partners, having sex at an early age. HPV VACCINE before a woman becomes sexually active. The vaccine is routinely given to females of age between 11, 12, 13, and 18 to catch up missed vaccine or complete the vaccination.

HEALTHY DIET
Healthy diet including eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding smoking also reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer.
Hepatitis is a disease condition of the liver in which the liver becomes sore, swollen and red as a result of the infection by a virus. This inflation [swelling] of the liver continues to increase because of the environment pollution of alcohol use, drug abuse and poor diet. Also, over use of paracetamol has been discovered to be highly responsible for increasing incidence of Hepatitis, HEPATITIS A and B are the most common.

THE SIGNS OF HEPATITIS INCLUDE:
vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, yellowness of the eyes, muscle and joint aces and pains, more on the right side of the body.

CAUSES OF HEPATITIS A AND B;
Hepatitis A is caused by infected food and common where there is poor hygiene, It spreads trough contaminated water. Hepatitis B is common in Nigeria and is caused by infected blood, It is spread through unprotected sex, sharing injection needles, blood contact or transfusion. It can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby during labor and delivery.
Mother to child transmission of Hepatitis B can be prevented by immunizing children with Hepatitis vaccine.

TREATMENT;
Cancer is a very deadly and expensive disease but if treated early,can be effectively managed at very good health facilities. Cervical cancer is often treated with a combination of surgery radiation and chemotherapy.

Cervical Cancer And Hepatitis
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Cervical Cancer in the News

Recently, there was a special bike ride by celebrity cyclists saving 12 women's lives from cervical cancer. A 5-day, 500-km cycle journey was undertaken as the biggest anti-cervical cancer bike tour and sponsorships and pledges were raised to prevent the senseless deaths of a dozen women from a disease that is treatable through early detection, and avoidable altogether with a series of vaccinations. It also helped in saving families from being torn apart because the efforts save mothers, daughters, and sisters from being claimed by this deadly but preventable disease. The cancer victims were given free vaccinations and the initiative helped in spreading the word on the importance of regular gynecological checkups and living a healthy life.

Even though such initiatives are taken, there are increasing incidences of cervical cancer cases. But the medical field has planned a way out with the adoption of colposcopy procedures that have helped early detection of the condition in women. This procedure is used to detect the cancer of the cervix at an early stage so that it may remain treatable. Many developing countries are now adopting these procedures with increase in the cervical cancer cases. There has been an introduction of low-cost, effective diagnosis known as VIA method - Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid method. It is beneficial because of its simplicity, short learning curve, and the results are easily available. Pap smear tests are not a regular facility in developing countries and there are some inherent disadvantages like delay in getting results and the lack of trained cytopathologists to report on smears.

There has been also a new U.S. study which shows that the tests for HPV or human papilloma virus have strains being linked to cervical cancer. It means that it is unnecessary and women who test positive may be getting extra treatment which may have a risk of complications and side effects. In young women, a positive test gives little information, since HPV is common in women in their 20s and probably won't lead to cancer, added the researchers. One should know that there are 40 different strains of sexually transmitted HPV and most of the sexually active people get HPV at some point and only a few strains link to cervical cancer while others lead to genital warts. The outcome may be that routine HPV testing at that age could lead to biopsies and cancer treatments that are unnecessary and carry a lot of stress and worry.
One should be aware and updated about the latest developments in medical tragedies like cervical cancer.

Cervical Cancer in the News
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Signs and Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Cancer is a very efficient and skilled silent killer. There are various types of cancer in fact, and these cancers are nothing but a condition in which the cells multiply in an uncontrollable manner forming masses of cells called tumors.
Ovarian cancer is associated with women and it is a very dangerous situation. Ovaries are the most important reproductive organ in any women. These ovaries produce eggs or ova and are passed through the fallopian tubes to the uterus where these eggs are fertilized by sperms, if any sperms are available at that time. Ovary cancer affects these ovaries. Let us take a look at some of the signs and treatments usually done for ovarian cancer.
Let us always keep in mind that cancer is not like common cold and can't be treated in that way. Some cancers show signs at a very early stage whereas some show signs only at a later stage. Usually there are no specific signs just for ovary cancer. Signs usually show up at a later stage and these signs are also associated with many other medical situations. So it is pretty tough to draw out conclusions when you face certain symptoms. At a beginning stage ovary cancer remains silent and signs start popping out only when the tumor has got big enough to affect other parts of the body as well.
The only earlier symptom known to be associated with ovarian cancer is the irregularity of menstrual cycles. Later symptoms include excessive pain or pressure in the pelvic area. You might feel terrible pain while having intercourse; a slight swelling of lower abdomen is also a symptom at a later stage, feeling of fullness and an urge to urinate frequently, constipation is another situation associated with ovary cancer at a later stage.
Nausea and also vomiting is noted at a later stage, frequent diarrhea and forming gas, abdominal pain due to fluids formed and etc. These signs however show up at a later stage and one might mistake these symptoms for some minor health issues. Always get a check up when you come across any symptoms; a stitch in time always saves nine.
Treatment of ovarian cancer is usually chemotherapy and surgery. In the early stages only the ovary infected with cancer cells and that particular fallopian tubes will be removed. But if the stage worsens, even the uterus will have to be removed along with ovary and fallopian tubes. The preventive techniques are basically stopping ovulation or preventing ovulation, like taking birth control pills, getting pregnant so often, tying the fallopian tubes. However these are not 100 percent guaranteed preventive measure.
Keep a check on your health from time to time. If there are any symptoms that show up frequently then get it clarified. Regular full body checkups can be of great help as you can figure out things that go around in your body. Health is always wealth, so try to always save some budget for your health and always keep you health insurance valid. Maintain a healthy lifestyle and eat healthy.
You should consider taking regular workouts and a proper routine that your body will find peace with. If everything goes well you can stay away from such situations to a great extent. Ovarian cancer is a dangerous situation, and make sure you do everything from your side to prevent it.

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