DOHA: Women can lower risk of some types cancers through human papilloma virus vaccine and screening as treatment works best if any cancer is detected early, says experts.
Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Women’s Hospital is observing Gynaecologic Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness.
According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, five main types of cancer affect a woman’s reproductive organs — cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar. As a group, they are referred to as gynaecologic cancers. Each cancer is unique, with different signs, symptoms and risk factors (that may increase the chance of getting cancer).
Gynaecologic cancers impact women worldwide, accounting for 19 percent of 5.1 million estimated new cases each year, according to World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Ovarian cancer has been identified as the leading cause of death out of gynaecological cancers, in Europe and the US, and the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. But when ovarian cancer is found in its early stages, it can be very treatable.
“Ovarian cancer may cause one or more of these signs and symptoms: Unusual feeling of fullness, bloating in the area below the stomach, pain in the pelvic or abdominal area (the area below the stomach and between the hip bones); back pain; pain during sexual intercourse; abnormal bleeding and a change in bathroom habits such as having to pass urine urgently or very often, constipation, or diarrhoea,” said Dr Afaf Al Ansari, Senior Consultant, Gynaecological Oncology, Women’s Hospital.
“The incidence of ovarian cancer increases with age, with the average age of diagnosis being 63. Over 70 percent of cases present advanced disease because symptoms are vague and non-specific, such as bloating, abdominal distention and early fullness,” Dr Al Ansari said, adding known risk factors for ovarian cancer are having a first child later in life, obesity, a menstrual cycle that started at a young age, a late menopause, genetic predisposition and certain fertility drugs.
“Ovarian cancer begins in the ovaries. Women have two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries, each about the size of an almond, produce eggs (ova) and hormones estrogen and progesterone,” said Dr Al Ansari.
She said ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and abdomen. “At this late stage, ovarian cancer is more difficult to treat and can be fatal. Early-stage ovarian cancer, when the disease is confined to the ovary, is more likely to be treated successfully. Early ovarian cancer often has no signs or symptoms, and any that exist are often mild, making the disease difficult to detect.
“It is important to pay attention to your body and know what is normal for you. If you think something is different or you detect changes in your body it may be that it is caused by something other than cancer, but the only way to know for sure is to see your doctor or go for check-up every two to three years,” Dr Al Ansari advised.
The Peninsula
DOHA: Women can lower risk of some types cancers through human papilloma virus vaccine and screening as treatment works best if any cancer is detected early, says experts.
Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Women’s Hospital is observing Gynaecologic Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness.
According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, five main types of cancer affect a woman’s reproductive organs — cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar. As a group, they are referred to as gynaecologic cancers. Each cancer is unique, with different signs, symptoms and risk factors (that may increase the chance of getting cancer).
Gynaecologic cancers impact women worldwide, accounting for 19 percent of 5.1 million estimated new cases each year, according to World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Ovarian cancer has been identified as the leading cause of death out of gynaecological cancers, in Europe and the US, and the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. But when ovarian cancer is found in its early stages, it can be very treatable.
“Ovarian cancer may cause one or more of these signs and symptoms: Unusual feeling of fullness, bloating in the area below the stomach, pain in the pelvic or abdominal area (the area below the stomach and between the hip bones); back pain; pain during sexual intercourse; abnormal bleeding and a change in bathroom habits such as having to pass urine urgently or very often, constipation, or diarrhoea,” said Dr Afaf Al Ansari, Senior Consultant, Gynaecological Oncology, Women’s Hospital.
“The incidence of ovarian cancer increases with age, with the average age of diagnosis being 63. Over 70 percent of cases present advanced disease because symptoms are vague and non-specific, such as bloating, abdominal distention and early fullness,” Dr Al Ansari said, adding known risk factors for ovarian cancer are having a first child later in life, obesity, a menstrual cycle that started at a young age, a late menopause, genetic predisposition and certain fertility drugs.
“Ovarian cancer begins in the ovaries. Women have two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries, each about the size of an almond, produce eggs (ova) and hormones estrogen and progesterone,” said Dr Al Ansari.
She said ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and abdomen. “At this late stage, ovarian cancer is more difficult to treat and can be fatal. Early-stage ovarian cancer, when the disease is confined to the ovary, is more likely to be treated successfully. Early ovarian cancer often has no signs or symptoms, and any that exist are often mild, making the disease difficult to detect.
“It is important to pay attention to your body and know what is normal for you. If you think something is different or you detect changes in your body it may be that it is caused by something other than cancer, but the only way to know for sure is to see your doctor or go for check-up every two to three years,” Dr Al Ansari advised.
The Peninsula
