Often I showcase the Alternative for research purposes and give cancer patients options to check out. But sometimes your first stop maybe best to go to your Obstetrician/Gynecologist OB/GYN. When you first experience something you know isn’t right and see what happens. Ovarian cancer is a horrendous type of cancer and many patients survive to share stories.
Ovarian cancer can be subtle early on, bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination it can easily be confused with other illnesses. Most (more than 90% are classified as “epithelial” and are believed to arise from the surface “epithelium” of the ovary.) However, evidence suggests the Fallopian tube could also be the source of some ovarian cancers.
Since the ovaries and tubes are closely related to each other, it’s thought that these Fallopian cancer cells can mimic ovarian cancer. Other types may arise from the egg cells (germ cell tumors) or the supporting cells. Ovarian cancer is included in the category gynecologic cancers. Which is a field that focuses on the female reproductive system and includes cervical, uterine vaginal and vulvar cancer.
There is substantial evidence that in some women genetic factors, carriers of certain BRCA mutations are notably at risk. The BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene accounts for 5%- 13% of ovarian cancer. And that some general populations (eg. Ashkenazi Jewish Women) are at higher risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer, often at an earlier age than the general population.
Patients with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, especially if diagnosed at a young age, may have an elevated risk and should be tested for the cancer gene. In the United States 5 of 100 women with a first degree relative with ovarian cancer will eventually get ovarian cancer themselves.
This corresponds to a risk increased by a bit more than twice that of “ovarian cancer” in the general population. Seven out of 100 women with two or more relatives with ovarian cancer, will also eventually get ovarian cancer. The other 10 to 20 percent of women with ovarian cancer also have a first or second degree relative with either breast or ovarian cancer.
Mutations in either of the two major susceptibility gene -1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer susceptibility gene 2 (BRCA2) confer a lifetime risk of breast cancer between 60 and 85 percent and a lifetime risk of ovarian cancer bet 15 and 40 percent. However, mutations in these genes account for only 2 to 3 percent of all breast cancers.
Therefore, with the aforementioned being written the best preventives may be an imbalance in hormones. A Swedish study which followed more than 61,000 women for 13 years, found a significant link between dairy consumption, especially milk and ovarian cancer. While limiting red meat could also be one of the best methods of avoiding gynecologic cancers.
Recent studies have also shown that women living in sunnier climates have a lower rate of ovarian cancer. Which leads some scientist to believe some kind of connection with exposure to vitamin D. Which leads me to think… that it might be an imbalance of the delicate balance of estrogen to progesterone circulating in the blood?