Ovarian cancer is one of the most common tumors of the female reproductive organs, ranking third in incidence after cervical cancer and uterine corpus cancer, with about 1.4% of women suffering from this disease. In most people’s view, ovarian cancer always has no signs before it deteriorates, which is why it is called the “silent killer” or the “silent killer”. Ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose at an early stage, so much so that the cancer cells spread to the whole ovary or even the abdominal cavity before it is detected, and most patients are already in the middle to late stage when they are diagnosed. At that time, it is almost hopeless to treat ovarian cancer. Up to now, the five-year survival rate is only 25%-30% according to domestic and international clinical data. Ovarian cancer is regarded as the invisible killer of women and the leading cause of gynecological death.
I. What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?
The symptoms of early ovarian cancer are often vague and easily confused with other disease symptoms, such as gastrointestinal discomfort. Patients almost always seek medical attention for abdominal distension, poor appetite, reduced diet or obvious weight loss, but these symptoms are similar to general digestive system symptoms and gastrointestinal disorders, which often do not attract attention, or even many doctors do not think of ovarian cancer when they visit gastroenterology departments of hospitals. As a result, the disease is often delayed and medical expenses are increased. The common symptoms of this group of patients include
1. lower abdominal discomfort or pelvic drop, which may be accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms such as poor appetite, nausea and stomach discomfort.
Abdominal distension. Even in the early stage of ovarian cancer, ascites may appear, or the tumor may grow beyond the pelvic cavity and a mass may be felt in the abdomen.
3. Compression: In addition to abdominal distension, mass with ascites may also cause compression symptoms, such as diaphragmatic elevation may cause difficulty in breathing, inability to lie down and palpitation; due to increased intra-abdominal pressure, which affects venous return of lower limbs, it may cause edema of abdominal wall and lower limbs; tumor compression of bladder and rectum may cause difficulty in urination, anal swelling and change of stool, etc.
4.Pain: Ovarian malignant tumor rarely causes pain, such as tumor rupture, bleeding and/or infection, or due to infiltration and compression of adjacent organs, it may cause abdominal pain, lumbago, etc.
5. Due to the rapid growth of tumor, malnutrition and physical exertion of patients, patients will show signs of anemia, emaciation and formation of cachexia, which are often the late symptoms of ovarian malignant tumor.
6. Menstrual disorders and endocrine symptoms: hormone production by interstitial components of tumor or destruction of bilateral ovaries by tumor may lead to menstrual disorders or vaginal bleeding; functional ovarian malignant tumor such as granulosa cell tumor may produce too much estrogen and cause precocious puberty; testicularoblastoma may produce too much androgen and cause masculinization, which may lead to irregular vaginal bleeding or postmenopausal vaginal bleeding. In addition to the ovarian malignancy itself, it is often accompanied by endometrial lesions such as endometrial hyperplasia or endometrial cancer.
7.The corresponding symptoms caused by metastasis: such as dry cough, coughing blood, chest fluid and difficulty in breathing due to lung metastasis; bone metastasis may produce severe pain and obvious local pressure points; intestinal metastasis may have stool deformation and blood in stool, and in serious cases, death may occur due to irreversible intestinal obstruction.
How to detect ovarian cancer early?
In the early stage, most patients will not notice ovarian cancer because some of its symptoms are similar to those of other gynecological diseases or gastroenterology diseases. Therefore, women should carefully observe the changes in their body and if they cannot tell whether it is normal or abnormal, they should ask gynecologists to help them as early as possible and should not be negligent.
57% of patients with early stage cancer or 87% of patients with mid-stage cancer will have one or more of the following symptoms.
1. swelling.
2. pain in the pelvis or abdomen.
3. not wanting to eat or feeling full easily.
4. frequent urination.
All of the above symptoms sometimes occur in normal people, when should I have to go for treatment? Except for women with swollen ovaries due to menstruation and those with irritable bowel syndrome, you should start paying attention when the above symptoms are new and persistent. “When new symptoms appear and last for two to three weeks, they can be symptoms of ovarian cancer, or other serious diseases such as urinary tract infections or colon cancer.” If these symptoms persist for several weeks, you may want to see a gynecologist.
A recent medical study by William Hamilton in the United Kingdom has shown that the symptoms of ovarian cancer can be a serious problem. A recent medical study in Hamilton summarized seven early symptoms associated with ovarian cancer: bloating, frequent urination, abdominal pain, postmenopausal re-entry, loss of appetite, rectal bleeding, and flatulence. The researchers called these seven symptoms “positive and valuable” precursors of ovarian cancer. They believe that the presence of one or more of these symptoms indicates the possibility of ovarian cancer. Among these warning signs, bloating is one of the more obvious ones, with an accuracy rate of 2.5%. This means that “1 in 40 women with ovarian cancer can detect the disease by bloating.” That’s a pretty high accuracy rate, almost as high as doctors’ accuracy in determining lung cancer by coughing up blood and colon cancer by blood in the stool. As the study progressed, scientists also found that three concomitant symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating and frequent urination, are often associated with ovarian cancer, and that ovarian cancer can be diagnosed at least six months earlier through this test and doctor’s judgment.
Therefore, middle-aged ladies aged 40 to 60 should be alert to ovarian cancer and have relevant examinations as early as possible if they have the following symptoms.
1. Gastrointestinal symptoms: If menopausal women often feel bloated and lose appetite, and no gastrointestinal disease is found after gastroenterological examination, they need to go to gynecology department for consultation at this time. This is because ovarian tumor will cause the surrounding ligaments to be compressed and stretched, and with the irritation of ascites, gastrointestinal symptoms will often appear. Abdominal distension is the “red card” warning of ovarian cancer, which often occurs before the lower abdominal mass is touched.
Pain in the lower abdomen: if the tissues adjacent to the ovary are infiltrated or adhered by the cancer, it will easily cause hidden pain or dull pain in the lower abdomen.
3.Oedema in the vulva and lower limbs: As the ovarian cancer tumor increases, the pelvic veins are compressed, resulting in poor blood flow and obstructing lymphatic flow, resulting in edema in the vulva and lower limbs.
4.Poor menstruation or amenorrhea: Most ovarian cancer patients have no change in menstruation. As the cancer tumor increases, the cancer cells will destroy the normal ovarian tissues, resulting in ovarian dysfunction and causing poor menstruation or amenorrhea.
5.Sex hormone disorders: The pathological types of ovarian cancer are complex and varied. Some tumors that secrete too much estrogen may cause precocious puberty, menstrual disorders or post-menopausal vaginal bleeding; in the case of testicular mother cell carcinoma, they may produce too much androgen and show masculine signs.
6.Unexplained wasting: As ovarian cancer grows gradually, ascites will form, which can mechanically compress the gastrointestinal tract, causing patients to have less food and indigestion. In addition, cancer cells consume a lot of nutrients in the body, which makes the patient increasingly thin, anemic and weak, with a pale complexion.
7Other: long-standing adnexitis; lumps can be found on one side of the lower abdomen; anal swelling and difficult urination, etc.
How to treat ovarian cancer?
If ovarian cancer can be detected at the early stage, 90% of it can be cured. Therefore, we must pay more attention to the early symptoms and treat them immediately. Once early ovarian cancer is diagnosed, a reasonable treatment plan must be formulated in time. Surgery is still the main treatment option in early stage. Surgery can not only clarify the pathological type and scope of ovarian tumor, but also remove all or most of the tumor. The thoroughness of ovarian cancer surgery is an important factor affecting the prognosis. Surgical procedures include resection of the whole uterus with both adnexa, resection of the greater omentum, resection of the pelvic and para-abdominal aortic lymph nodes, and resection of all metastases in the pelvic and abdominal cavities. The surgical procedure is selected according to the accurate staging, and some patients can be supplemented with chemotherapy after surgery.
The standard chemotherapy approach is six months in combination with paclitaxel and platinum-based anticancer drugs (carboplatin or cisplatin). Strong antiemetics may reduce the vomiting symptoms of chemotherapy.
For early stage ovarian cancer, in addition to milk and eggs, it is important to consume more fresh vegetables, fruits, protein and multivitamins, and avoid eating female pork. After surgery, we should pay more attention to nourishing and regulating the body and nourishing the liver and kidneys, such as pomegranate, Luo Han Guo, cinnamon, mulberry, black sesame, black fungus, mung beans, placenta, carp and carp.
Who is prone to ovarian cancer?
Ovarian cancer can occur at any age, and the higher the age, the more it occurs. It is usually found in menopausal and menopausal women, and less frequently in women under 20 years old. The etiology of ovarian cancer is still unknown, and its development may be related to age, fertility, blood type, psychological factors and environment. The causes can be divided into the following aspects: external factors (including chemical, physical, biological and other carcinogenic factors), internal factors (including immune function, endocrine, genetic and psychological factors), as well as dietary and nutritional disorders and poor living habits.
According to statistics, the incidence of ovarian cancer in celibates is 60%-70% higher than that in married people. Some analyses have found that the incidence of ovarian cancer is higher in those with blood type A and lower in those with blood type O. Mental factors have a certain influence on the development of ovarian cancer. Impatience and long-term mental stimulation can lead to damage of the host immune surveillance system, which has a promotional effect on tumor growth. Ovaries are also sensitive to cigarettes. Women who smoke 20 cigarettes a day have early amenorrhea and high incidence of ovarian cancer. People who are frequently exposed to talcum powder and asbestos have a higher chance of developing ovarian cancer. Many women like to sprinkle talcum powder on their vulva, inner thighs, lower abdomen, armpits, etc. after bathing. Medical experts found, based on a large number of pathological examinations, that about 75% of ovarian cancer patients can see talcum powder particles of about 2 microns in their tissue sections, which fully confirms that most ovarian cancer patients have a history of perineal contact with talcum powder for many years. Talcum powder induces ovarian cancer because the main raw material of prickly heat powder and de-sweating powder is talcum powder, which is an inorganic compound composed of magnesium oxide, silicon oxide and magnesium silicate in “combined” form. Among them, magnesium silicate is what we often call asbestos, which is a substance that can easily induce cancer.
V. How to prevent ovarian cancer?
Since the cause of ovarian cancer is unknown, it is impossible to prevent the occurrence of ovarian cancer. However, early detection can reduce the occurrence of late stage ovarian cancer. In order to detect ovarian malignancy at an early stage, the following points should be noted.
1. All solid ovarian masses, or cysts larger than 6 cm, should be surgically removed immediately.
2. Pre- and post-menopausal women with ovarian masses should be considered as tumors. Women of childbearing age with small adnexal cystic masses that do not shrink after 2 months of observation should be considered as tumors, and those that increase during observation should be operated at any time.
3.Pelvic inflammatory masses, especially suspected pelvic tuberculosis or endometriotic masses, should be surgically explored when treatment is ineffective and tumor cannot be excluded.
4.If endometrial adenoma-like hyperplasia or endometrial adenocarcinoma is found after menopause, attention should be paid to the presence of ovarian masses and timely surgical treatment should be performed.
5. When pelvic surgery is performed, both ovaries should be carefully examined for lesions. In addition to the indications for ovarian disease itself, it is recommended to remove both adnexa at the same time for those who have to undergo hysterectomy due to uterine disease when they are over 45 years old.