What is ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer is a serious and under- recognised threat to women’s health and the fourth most common cancer amongst women. Each year 7,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Smear Tests do not detect ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer develops when cells in the ovaries begin to grow out of control and can then invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body.

The ovaries

The ovaries are 2 small, oval-shaped organs, one on each side of the body and are part of the female reproductive system. They are in the lower part of the abdomen, which is known as the pelvis.

Other organs very close to the Ovaries (see diagram).These include

• The ureter, which drains urine from the kidney to the bladder
• The bladder
• The lower part of the bowel (rectum)
• The omentum - a membrane which surrounds all of the pelvic and abdominal organs and keeps them in place. It is also called the peritoneum.
• A collection of lymph nodes
  

Each month in women of childbearing age, one of the ovaries produces an egg. The egg passes down the fallopian tube to the womb (uterus). If the egg is not fertilised by a sperm it passes out of the womb and is shed, along with the lining of the womb, as part of the monthly cycle.

The ovaries also produce the female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. As a woman nears the menopause the ovaries make less of these hormones and periods gradually stop.

In young women the ovaries are about 1 ½ inches long. After the menopause they tend to shrink. So the normal ovaries cannot be usually felt in a clinical examination except in young women. Cysts develop in the ovary every month as the egg develops. Cysts are fluid filled sacks. They are not usually cancerous. They should be investigated if they:

• Are there for longer than usual
• Are unusually large 5 cm
• Cause symptoms
• Occur in post-menopausal women