Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is in September. Ovarian cancer is the second most prevalent gynecologic cancer in the United States, and it is the disease of the female reproductive system that results in the most fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In This Article...
Why does teal represent ovarian cancer?
Teal is worn on Wear Teal Day to promote ovarian cancer awareness. Wearing the color can help start conversations that educate others about the signs and risk factors of the disease, which will help increase the likelihood of an early diagnosis and effective treatment.
What are the ovarian cancer warning signs?
Test for ovarian cancer if you have a suspicion: If any of the following symptoms are persistent or frequent (especially more than 12 times per month) in any woman (especially if over 50 years old): abdominal squeezing (bloating). early satiety, feeling full, and/or losing appetite abdominal or pelvic pain
What does ovarian cancer month entail?
This Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, our great community as a whole accomplished so much.
Whether you advocated for change, shared your experiences, or collected money or awareness
The difference you have made is enormous and will alter the course of ovarian cancer patients’ lives.
Here are just a few examples of what we’ve been up to as a group:
- need awareness to ensure that everyone receives a timely diagnosis and life-saving care. More than 15,000 of you have signed our open letters to UK government officials.
- raising essential cash to support our work, our advocacy efforts, our research into more humane medical treatments, and the development of our supportive network. You’ve ridden a bike for tens of thousands of kilometers, baked hundreds of cakes, and taken 4.5 million steps.
- sharing your experiences on television, in newspapers, and on social media so that everyone is aware of the symptoms to watch for.
- influencing policymakers by converting over 100 political officials into Teal Heroes and vowing to advocate for improved support, diagnosis, and treatment.
Ovarian cancer: Is there a symbol for it?
The way we all operate has largely changed as a result of the current crisis. Now that I commute to work at my kitchen table, my adult “children” periodically come in to check the fridge but leave again after being unimpressed. I, like many of you, find it hard to imagine that I had never used Zoom until a few months ago.
We’ve also had to alter our awareness-raising strategies. Currently, 90% of women are unaware of the primary signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. Additionally, due to COVID-19, there has been a significant drop in the number of patients seeing their doctors and cancer diagnoses during the past six weeks. Knowing your symptoms and getting a quick diagnosis are more crucial than ever. On this World Ovarian Cancer Day, we want to make sure that women in the UK understand how important it is to be aware of their symptoms and that their GPs are always available.
On World Ovarian Cancer Day, we use the white rose as a symbol of hope to spread awareness of ovarian cancer and its signs and symptoms. For the past two years, we have teamed together with our supporters to distribute tens of thousands of white roses in cities all around the UK along with cards listing symptoms. Even though we might not be able to march this year, we won’t let that stop us.
To promote awareness, we’re encouraging everyone to design and share their own white rose with ovarian cancer symptoms throughout the entire month of May. They can also upload a photo of their design to our gallery to be a part of the UK’s biggest rose garden.
You can make a rose in any way you desire, whether through painting, baking, knitting, or origami. For additional inspiration, feel free to grab our free rose craft bundle. Once the rose is made, a picture of it can be posted to our virtual rose garden, where you can also click to share your creation along with ovarian cancer symptoms on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with the hashtag #OCARoseGarden and, if you can, donate.
To get started, get your free rose craft kit, then spread the word about it. You never know, whether you bake, knit, or sketch, you might just save a life. Build a rose.
World Ovarian Cancer Day 2020
We’re inviting everyone to make a white rose in May to contribute to the UK’s largest rose garden and spread awareness of ovarian cancer.
How come ovarian cancer is so deadly?
Teal has always been one of my favorite colors because of the peacefulness and peace it evokes. However, this month, wearing teal serves a deeper purpose beyond aesthetics: Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is in September.
Ovarian cancer has no known obvious cause, although several things can clearly make you more likely to have it. These include family history of ovarian or breast cancer, genetics (existence of a particular gene mutation), age (older women are more likely to develop the disease), and past disorders affecting the reproductive system. In addition, it has been demonstrated that the use of fertility therapies, estrogen hormone replacement therapy, and infertility all raise the chance of developing ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is particularly lethal because it rarely exhibits signs in the early stages of the disease. Sadly, this means that it frequently goes unnoticed until the disease has already advanced to the pelvis and abdomen, at which point it is usually too late to do anything.
As if that weren’t frightening enough, when late-stage symptoms do start to emerge, they might be confused for non-threatening diseases like bloating, swelling, weight loss, pelvic discomfort, frequent urination, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome, to name a few. As a result, many women are unaware of the risk even when late stage symptoms start to show. Because of this, ovarian cancer is frequently referred to as a silent killer, and raising public awareness and educating people about it must be a top focus.
The disease is also quite difficult to diagnose, but it can be done by a variety of imaging tests, blood tests, and ultimately exploratory surgery to both confirm the diagnosis and determine the stage of the cancer.
Unfortunately, there are not many effective treatments for ovarian cancer. When ovarian cancer is in its late stages, it is typically deadly and very difficult to treat. The removal of the ovaries and any adjacent reproductive organs, combined with chemotherapy to eradicate any leftover cancer cells, is a viable treatment option for ovarian cancer if it is discovered at an early stage (while the cancer is still contained to the ovary). The likelihood of success increases with earlier cancer detection and less invasive surgery. Early detection is therefore vitally essential.
Although there is no way to completely avoid ovarian cancer, some circumstances, such as the use of oral contraceptives, pregnancy, and nursing, have been linked to a lower risk. However, if you believe you may be at danger, the greatest thing you can do for yourself is to have regular checkups with your doctor.
By being knowledgeable, educating others, and donning lots of teal, you can contribute to ovarian cancer awareness. You’ll look stunning while doing it!
For more information on ovarian cancer, check out two articles from our September/October issue of The Women’s Health Activist:
- Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is in September.
- Oncologists Neglect the Best Ovarian Cancer Treatment
What is the ovarian cancer survival rate?
A individual with stage 1 ovarian cancer has either one or both ovaries where the cancer has been discovered. Stage 1 ovarian cancer is found in 15% of cases in women.
- Stage 1A: One ovary is affected by cancer.
- Cancer is discovered inside both ovaries at stage 1B.
- Stage 1C: One or both ovaries have cancer, and one of the following is true:
- Moreover, one or both ovaries’ external surfaces have malignancy;
- the ovary’s capsule, or outer covering, has torn or broken open; or
- Cancer cells can be identified in the fluid of the peritoneal cavity, which is the bodily cavity that houses the majority of the abdominal organs, or in peritoneal washings (tissue lining the peritoneal cavity).
What is the survival rate for Stage 1 ovarian cancer?
The prognosis for most women with Stage 1 ovarian cancer is very good. Patients in stages 1A and 1B, as well as those with grade 1 tumors, have a 5-year survival rate of above 90%. Studies of a lot of people are frequently used to determine survival rates, but these studies cannot forecast what will happen to any one individual. The prognosis of a woman is also influenced by other factors, including as overall health, cancer grade, and response to treatment.
About 3 out of 4 (72.4 percent) women with ovarian cancer survive for at least a year following diagnosis when all kinds of ovarian cancer are combined. Nearly half (46.2%) of ovarian cancer patients are still living at least five years following their diagnosis. Those diagnosed before age 65 fare better than women diagnosed beyond that age.
What treatment do they offer for ovarian cancer?
Surgery and chemotherapy are frequently used in the treatment of ovarian cancer.
- Surgery: During an operation, doctors remove cancerous tissue.
- Chemotherapy: The use of specialized drugs to reduce or eradicate cancer. The drugs may be taken orally, administered intravenously, or occasionally both.
- Gynecologic oncologists are medical professionals with specialized training in treating cancers of the female reproductive system. Both surgery and chemotherapy are performed (medicine).
- Doctors who perform procedures are known as surgeons.
- Medical oncologists are physicians who use medication to treat cancer (chemotherapy).
For further details about ovarian cancer treatment, go to the National Cancer Institute.
Can ovarian cancer be completely cured?
Treatment for certain ovarian cancer patients may eradicate the disease. Treatment completion can be both thrilling and worrisome. Even while it will be a relief to finish treatment, it might be difficult to stop worrying about the cancer returning. (A recurrence of cancer is referred to as such.) If you’ve had cancer, this is extremely typical.
Others’ ovarian cancer never totally disappears. Chemotherapy may be administered to some women intermittently over many years. It can be challenging and extremely frustrating to learn to live with cancer that does not get better.
Making new decisions and going back to some old ones are both part of life after ovarian cancer.