If you know someone diagnosed with ovarian cancer, then you know how truly devastating this disease can be. Any female diagnosed with ovarian cancer today will only have a 49 per cent chance of surviving the next five years.
To put this in perspective, the five year survival rate of breast cancer is 92 per cent. For cervical cancer it's 74 per cent. But for females with ovarian cancer, their likelihood of survival is less than even.
And there is a reason why. To this day, there is still no reliable test for ovarian cancer. Screening is limited, warning signs go undetected, and by the time the cancer is caught, it's often too late.
What kind of tools are available?
The currently available testing criteria for ovarian cancer are not where they need to be.
There is a blood test called CA125 that can be used to assist in the diagnosis process. This is because CA125 is a protein that can be indicative of ovarian cancer cells. But, elevated CA125 proteins in the blood are also indicative of other conditions or body stages. CA125 proteins can also indicate endometriosis, ovarian cysts or simply that you're currently menstruating. If elevated levels are discovered, they're easily attributed to one of these other common conditions.
Likewise, not all people with ovarian cancer have elevated CA125 levels. In fact, half of all females with early stage ovarian cancer will not have elevated protein levels at all. As a result, the CA125 is not a recommended or effective screening test – especially not for women with no symptoms.
Ultra sounds, pelvic exams and CT scans can also be potential tools. Many people diagnosed with ovarian cancer often have to navigate a time-consuming mix of all these options, before the condition can be officially confirm through a laparoscopic biopsy.
It means that while we have some diagnostic tools, there is not one easy test that can lead to a path to diagnosis. And, there is no effective test to detect ovarian cancers in the early stages.
By the time ovarian cancer can be effectively diagnosed, the chances of survival have dropped below half. It's a scary realisation for anyone with female anatomy.
Who is at risk?
Some groups are at an increased risk for ovarian cancer. Females with a family history or who have Ashkenazi Jewish heritage could be more likely develop ovarian cancer, it is recommended that these groups have regular screening. Even then, if you are someone at an increased risk and you want to monitor and regularly screen for ovarian cancer, there is no evidence that this leads to a reduced mortality.
Only five to 10 percent of ovarian cancer cases are linked to a family history, meaning that most cases will be found in people who are not in the recommended regular screening group.
Raising awareness is one of our most powerful tools
World Ovarian Cancer Day takes place each year on 8 May. It's a day to raise awareness that one Australian female dies every eight hours from ovarian cancer. To let people know that in 70 per cent of cases, the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body by the time its diagnosed. It's a day to talk to your friends and mothers and to take a moment to check in with your sisterhood so we can all recognise the signs while we wait for the research to catch up.
The symptoms of ovarian cancers aren't always obvious. The Cancer Council's ovarian cancer page highlights that "symptoms that may indicate ovarian cancer are vague," and that "these symptoms are often related to more common, less serious health problems and most women will have these symptoms at some time."
Things like fatigue, indigestion, lower-back pain, nausea, abdominal pain, pain during sex, unusual bleeding, unexplained weight changes and bloating are potential symptoms. These are extremely common symptoms for anyone who menstruates and can simply be part of a normal day in the life, so they can be easy to ignore. But, until we have a reliable early detection test, brushing these symptoms under the rug can be deadly. Remind your friends and yourself to attend a screening if something doesn't feel right.
If you can support, a blood donation or a monetary donation can help support ovarian cancer research, and the quest for an early detection test.
Impactful donation opportunities can be found below:
- Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation
- Ovarian Cancer Australia
- Camilla and March 'Ovaries, Let's Talk About Them' campaign
- Gynaecological Cancer Research Group
For more information, try these resources:
*Editor’s note: in the context of this article, we use “female” to denote people with anatomically female sex characteristics. We use “women” to denote gender and to refer to people who identify as women. There may be exceptions when language is taken from a direct quote.
