This Wednesday, May 8, 2024, World Ovarian Cancer Day is celebrated, the most lethal of all gynecological cancers. Because?
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Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer in women and the sixth cause of death from this disease in the female population.
“In Colombia it is a common cancer. According to the latest reports in 2022, around 2,300 new cases were diagnosed and “an average of 1,500 deaths were recorded”indicated Marc Pierre, head of gynecological oncology at the CTIC.
One of the biggest challenges facing this cancer is that 70% are detected late.
The specialist explained that this is because the pathology “It has no specific symptoms and women cannot feel their ovaries. “A woman may become aware of some alteration when the abdomen already swells, fills with fluid or feels painful.”
What are those signals that should set off the alarms?
For Marc Pierre, the Signs are reflected in eating, pelvic or abdominal pain, and bulging of the aforementioned part.
In addition to the signs, it is essential that women recognize certain factors that increase the risk of developing this disease.
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“The most important risk factor is hereditary. The other risk is age and pregnancy, well, If a 35-year-old woman has not had a pregnancy, she is at high risk“, said the doctor.
Today there are different tools for diagnosis: images, blood tests, biopsies, that allow the specific type of cancer to be identified and in that sense there is a key message.
“Every patient with ovarian cancer must have a genetic study because it can trigger another tumor, such as breast cancer,” said Marc Pierre.
He Treatment will depend on the stage of the cancer and the patient’s own conditions.
