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Ovarian Cancer Affects Reproductive Health Like?

Ovarian cancer rates in Vietnam are increasing every year. This is malignant cancer with a quiet development, a vague sign that many women are subjective, easily confused with common gynecological diseases. By the time the disease develops in a late-stage, the treatment is extremely complicated, threatens life and reproductive health, and even leads to infertility.

What is Ovarian Cancer?

When cells in the ovaries grow abnormally, malignancies form on one or both sides of the ovary called ovarian cancer.

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Ovarian cancer is malignant cancer
that makes it difficult to treat in its late-stage

Ovarian cancer, if not treated early, gives cancer cells a chance to thrive and begin to invade the muscle tissue around the ovaries, impairing and affecting reproductive function.

In the late stages of ovarian cancer, cancer cells will begin to spread to other parts of the body and form new tumors that continue to grow through the lymphatic pathway.

How Many Stages Does Ovarian Cancer Have?

Ovarian cancer develops in 4 stages, including:

• Stage 1: Tumor begins to form and is confined to the ovaries or fallopian tubes. At this stage, there is no invasion of other organs. This is the stage of ease of treatment and the highest rate of recovery.

• Stage 2: The tumor is still in the ovary but has signs of invading neighboring organs in the pelvis such as the ovaries, uterus …

• Stage 3: The tumor grows and is larger than 2cm in size, begins to spread to the organs in the abdomen such as the abdominal lining, the ovaries … even further away such as the spleen, liver. According to statistics, ovarian cancer is detected in stage 3 accounting for 51%.

• Stage 4: In the final stage, tumors metastasize to organs outside the abdomen. This is a period that makes treatment difficult, seriously affects the health and costs a lot.

Ovarian Cancer Signs

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The signs of ovarian cancer in an early stage woman should pay attention

Early signs of ovarian cancer are of great significance in treatment and recovery. Some signs of ovarian cancer can recognize as follows:

• Feeling poorly eating, eating very little, but always feeling full.

• Persistent gastrointestinal disturbance, abdominal pain, nausea.

• The abdomen may be slightly swollen with a feeling of gas, usually lasting a few weeks.

• Severe pain when urinating.

• People always feel tired, drowsy.

• Unexplained weight loss.

• Occurrence of unusual vaginal bleeding, painful sensation.

• Bleeding in the middle of a menstrual cycle.

• It hurts when having sex.

• Common back and pelvic pain have no specific cause.

Causes Of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is a dangerous disease, to date has not found the exact cause of the disease. However, there are factors that increase your risk of ovarian cancer:

Genetic factors: When a family member such as a mother, sister, or sister has ovarian or breast cancer or colon cancer, the other members are also at greater risk than others.

Personal History: People who have had breast or colon cancer are also at high risk of ovarian cancer.

Age: According to studies, getting older also increases your risk of disease. Ovarian cancer rates often increase in women entering the age from 50 to 60 years old.

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People between the ages of 50 and 60
are at risk for ovarian cancer

Childbirth: People who have had children or have had many children are at a much lower risk of ovarian cancer than women who have never had a baby.

Hormone replacement therapy: Hormone replacement therapy after entering menopause is also a risk factor for ovarian cancer.

Talc powder: People often use talcum powder (found in cosmetics and powder to help dry skin) when the powder comes into contact with the genitals and has the risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Depending on the stage, ovarian cancer treatment will bring about different results. According to statistics, the chance of living over 5 years for stage 1 ovarian cancer is up to 95%, with stage 2 is 70%.

But when cancer has entered stage 3, the survival rate is reduced to 39%, in the late stage, the survival rate is very low, mainly intervening to help patients prolong the life.

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Ovarian cancer, if treated at an early stage,
will greatly increase the rate of recovery

When a patient is suspected of having ovarian cancer, he/she will have diagnostic tests, biopsy, tumor markers, ultrasound … After having accurate results on the condition and stage of the disease, Doctors will have an appropriate treatment regimen such as surgery, radiotherapy and taking drugs.

In addition, patients need to follow the instructions of the doctor, follow-up on time. Through the consultation of a doctor, patients will need to change some habits such as regular exercise, scientific diet, supplementing with good nutrients for the treatment process.

How Does Ovarian Cancer Affect Reproductive Health?

Many cases of women wonder, when having ovarian cancer at the stage of forced removal of the ovaries, what effect is the removal of the ovaries?

An undesirable thing after treatment for ovarian cancer not only affects the health of the patient but also the ability to give birth after ovariectomy is also affected depending on the severity of the disease.

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Surgical removal of the ovaries
affects a woman’s fertility

The ovaries and fallopian tubes are the organs with important functions in reproduction, where sperms meet the eggs for fertilization and pregnancy. However, the 2 ovaries are independently functioning not related to each other. So, depending on the case of removing one or both sides of the ovary will have different effects on the fertility of women.

Cut one ovary to have a baby? In the case of unilateral removal of the ovary, the remaining ovary is still functioning well which means fertility is still present but the conception rate is only 50%.

However, the surgical removal of the ovaries also causes certain damage by interfering with the pelvic area and leaving scarring. There are cases that will cause potential complications in the patient’s body, potentially leading to an ectopic pregnancy that can endanger the patient’s life.

Amputation of one ovary also affects the couple’s activities. It takes time for the wounds to recover, and should limit the couple’s activities within 6 months. In addition, due to estrogen reduces the secretion of vaginal mucus, it also causes problems that reduce feelings during sexual activity.

Can the ovaries be cut on both sides of the ovary? The amputation of both sides of the ovary is an undesirable case that has a huge impact on the health and loss of fertility in women.

In addition to the loss of reproductive function, for those who have not yet puberty, the loss of 2 ovaries will make the physiological signs go away due to the inability to secrete fertility hormones leading to menstrual loss, the breast does not develop.

In cases where people have passed puberty, cutting their ovaries on both sides will lead to premature menopause, frequent hot flashes, fatigue, irritability, memory loss, and vaginal dryness. At this point, the patient needs to use drugs to improve this condition.

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Surgical removal of the ovaries affects a woman’s fertility

Although the natural ability to conceive is lost due to the inability to produce eggs, pregnancy is still possible.

Nowadays, with the advancement of medicine, couples can rest assured that a patient who has lost both ovaries can obtain an oocyte from another through in vitro fertilization will help the woman become pregnant.

Ovarian cancer, if detected early, will help the treatment process effectively, avoiding serious impacts on health. On the contrary, if the disease is in a late-stage, it will affect the patient’s reproductive health and even cause death. Therefore, each person needs to have a sense of self-protection, regular periodic health checks to detect diseases and treat them promptly.

The site cannot and does not contain medical advice. The medical information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals.