Frequently Asked Questions Ovarian Cancer
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Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast,
and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. Ovarian cancer is cancer in the ovaries,
the female reproductive organs located in the pelvis. The ovaries make female hormones and
store eggs that, if fertilized by sperm, can develop into a baby. Women have two ovaries,
one on each side of the uterus. Tumors found in the ovaries may be non-cancerous tissue
growths (cysts) or cancerous growths that may spread to other parts of the body.
About 1 in every 72 women in the United States will develop ovarian cancer. Most cases
occur in women over the age of 50, but this disease can also affect younger women. Ovarian
cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. The
sooner ovarian cancer is found and treated, the better a woman's chance for recovery. But
ovarian cancer is hard to detect early. Many times, women with ovarian cancer have no
symptoms or just mild symptoms until the disease is in an advanced stage. Scientists are
studying ways to detect ovarian cancer before symptoms develop.
For More Information
To learn more about ovarian cancer, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
web site http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/knowledge or the National Cancer Institute web site http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/ovary.
You also can find out more about ovarian cancer by contacting the womenshealth.gov Call Center at 1-800-994-9662 or the following organizations:
National Cancer Institute
Cancer Information Service
Phone: (800) 422-6237
Internet Address: http://cis.nci.nih.gov
American Cancer Society
Phone: (800)-ACS-2345
Internet Address: http://www.cancer.org
Gynecologic Cancer Foundation
Phone: (800) 444-4441
Internet Address: http://www.wcn.org/gcf
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
Phone: (561) 393-0005
Internet Address: http://www.ovarian.org
Content last updated December 5, 2008.
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