Sudhakar Jha
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Written By: Sudhakar Jha | Published : September 24, 2018 10:24 PM IST
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women © Shutterstock
There are times when the symptoms of ovarian cancer are not easy to spot. Experts say that they re very discrete, easy to ignore, and can easily be attributed to other things like changing their diet. And are generally easy to blow off. But the problem is that ignoring those signs can lead to rapid progression and thus making it difficult to treat. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women.
So, here are the subtle signs that you shouldn t ignore.
Old age: The risk of developing ovarian cancer gets higher with aging. The risk of ovarian cancer for women under 40 is rare and the chances of the disease develops after menopause. And according to stats, half of all the ovarian cancers are found in women who are older than 63 years.
Obesity: Obesity has been linked to development of many types of cancers. According to studies, obese women (With BMI of 30) may have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. Obesity has also been linked to overall survival of a woman with ovarian cancer.
Having children later or not getting a full-term pregnancy: Numerous studies have found that women who have their first full-term pregnancy after the age of 35 or who never carried a pregnancy to full term have a higher risk of ovarian cancer.
Going for fertility treatment: Fertility treatment with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) may have the ability to increase the risk of the type of ovarian tumours known as borderline or low malignant potential of causing ovarian cancer. Other studies, however, have not shown an increased risk of invasive ovarian cancer with fertility drugs.
Hormone therapy: Women going for estrogens after menopause have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. And research have shown that the risks are higher in women who take estrogen alone (without progesterone) for at least 5 to 10 years.
