Can you tell me what the signs of the last stages of ovarian cancer is? Thanks.
Hi There
most ovarian cancer is sporadic
as a general statistic, unrelated to any other risk factors, women have a 1 in 70 lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer
That is one tenth the incidence of breast cancer.
that is - women in North America have a one in 7 lifetime risk of breast cancer
the only cancer more common than breast cancer (excluding skin cancers) is in women who smoke cigarettes. For them , lung cancer is the big killer.
now to put it in perspective, many more women die from heart disease than any cancer
so if you want to be pro-active as a general rule, do 30 minutes of exercise a day, maintain your ideal body weight, and take a baby aspirin a day
now back to ovarian cancer:
your mother should get tested for the BRCA gene. If she has the gene , then family members should get tested
if your mother is BRCA gene mutation positive, and you get tested and are positive, you need to have your ovaries and fallopian tubes prophylactically removed
if your mother tests positive for BRCA and you test negative, then you only have a 1 in 70 risk and not a 30 to 50% risk of developing ovarian cancer (and an up to 80% risk of developing breast cancer for BRCA 1 gene mutation)
if your mother tests negative for the gene, then it does not make sense to test you.
the indications for prophylactic surgical removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes is either positive BRCA mutation or 2 or more first degree family members with ovarian/breast cancer.
best wishes