What you should know about Ovarian Cancer?

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Ovarian cancer - the cancer of ovaries has been known as a ‘silent killer' in the past because it's hard to diagnose. 

Its symptoms are:

• persistent tummy or pelvic pain  
• increased tummy size or persistent bloating – not bloating that comes and goes 
• Difficulty eating and feeling full quickly.  

Some women may also experience other symptoms like: 

•  the need to wee more frequently,  
• changes in bowel habit,  
• extreme fatigue or pain.  

If you have these symptoms more than 12 times in a month, you should seriously consider going to see your doctor. 

According to the American Cancer Society about 1 in 75 women will get ovarian cancer in her lifetime, but young women are rarely affected. The risk escalates starting at age 63, 

Diagnosis of Ovarian cancer: 

It is often diagnosed at a late stage. Ovarian cancer is frequently diagnosed when the cancer is already at an advanced stage and women often delay seeking help. This may be because the woman thinks her symptoms are due to menopause or confused with other common stomach and digestive complaints. Doctors also often initially suspect less serious

Time to seriously think of PCOS

By Dr. Shweta Goswami    

PCOS which is called Poly cystic ovarian syndrome is a hormonal imbalance disorder in which woman’s levels of sex hormones estrogen and progesterone gets out of balance. This leads to growth of ovarian cysts. To elaborate what actually cysts is that in girls with PCOS, the ovaries produce higher levels of androgen than normal, and this interferes with egg development and release. Some of the eggs develop into cysts which are little sacs filled with liquid and instead of being released during ovulation, these cysts build up in the ovaries and even get enlarged , hence the name poly cystic ovaries or Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Thus a girl or woman with PCOS does not actually have cysts in her ovaries, she has lots of egg follicles in various stages of maturation which on an ultrasound give the appearance of numerous fluid filled cysts in both ovaries  

Mostly more than half of women with poly cystic ovary syndrome don't even realize they have PCOS; mainly hormonal imbalances and genetics play a pivotal role in developing PCOS.   

Women with infrequent menstrual periods or irregular bleeding are likely to have PCOS. Moreover if you notice these symptoms in your body then please do consult a good IVF specialist as PCOS could give you infertility as well which means that you are unable to get pregnant on your own.  

One should consider getting evaluated for PCOS if:   

• you  have irregular menstrual cycle or prolonged cycles (beyond 35 days or so)
• increased growth of hair on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes 
• your skin is breaking out or you get acne, oily skin, or you are getting dandruff  
• you have gained extra weight around your tummy   
• darkening of skin around your neck    

If PCOS is not diagnosed early and treated properly it can lead to problems as well like type 2 diabetes , high cholesterol, high blood pressure, abnormal bleeding from the uterus, and very occasionally cancer too. The most important step is screening the condition and PCOS can be easily diagnosed through Blood tests and Ultrasound and therefore the chances of having serious side effects are reduced. The important thing is to diagnose