Ovarian cancer: the importance of detecting it in early stages

Ovarian cyst treatment is a matter that depends on many factors. Some of them are the size and appearance of the cyst, whether or not there are symptoms, or whether you have gone through menopause.

Sometimes premenopausal women who discover they have a cyst do not need to undergo any treatment if the cyst turns out to be small and functional. All they need to do is to have an ultrasound after a month, to check the cyst, because there are chances that it will go away without any treatment in a few weeks.

In the case of postmenopausal women, if a cyst is detected in an ovary, the risk of developing cancer is very low. More than half of these types of cysts will disappear in about 3 months. To detect ovarian cysts, there are ultrasound scans and blood tests for the CA132 protein. These postmenopausal women are advised to follow up with an ultrasound 4 months after the cysts have disappeared.

Sometimes, when the cyst is large, causes symptoms, or appears during pregnancy, the doctor may recommend surgery to remove the cyst, since without looking at it under a microscope it is difficult to tell if it will become cancerous. one or not

There is a surgical technique called laparoscopy, which is suitable to use when you want to remove smaller cysts. This method involves two small cuts made in the lower abdomen and through these cuts air is blown into the pelvis so that the abdominal wall is lifted away from the internal organs. A laparoscope is then inserted into the abdomen and the surgeon can see the internal organs. With the small tools attached to the laparoscope, the surgeon can make a small cut in the cyst and drain the fluid. He may also simply take a sample of the cyst to determine what type it is.

Laparotomy is another surgical technique, which is recommended when the cyst presents a risk of bursting or spilling during its extraction. This operation requires a larger cut to be made at the top of the pubic hairline, so the surgeon will have access through that cut to remove the cyst and send it to the lab to see if it is cancerous or not.

If the cyst turns out to be cancerous, your doctor may need to treat you to remove both ovaries, the uterus, the omentum, and some lymph nodes.

Every year, 6,800 new cases of ovarian cancer are discovered in the UK, and there are around 4,650 deaths a year from ovarian cancer. The average age of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is 63, but the disease often appears between the ages of 50 and 80, sometimes even earlier.

Long-term use of oral contraceptives reduces the risk of ovarian cancer by three quarters, and this type of cancer appears more frequently in women who have never had children than in those who do.

Cancer is difficult to detect in the early stages, but when caught early and still confined to the ovaries, it can be cured with surgical treatment.