"A Patient's Guide to Ovarian Cancer" - Elaine Howley
Ovarian cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer that begins in the ovaries. These small organs sit in a woman’s pelvis and house the eggs that, when fertilized, become embryos that can develop into a baby. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 22,530 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2019 and about 13,980 women will die of the disease. “We don’t know exactly what causes it,” said Stephanie Blank, MD, director of gynecologic oncology for the Mount Sinai Health System. “There are different hypotheses of why people get ovarian cancer,” but we don’t know enough about how the disease begins to know for sure what causes it. Still, “having a lot of pregnancies and taking birth control pills” are both associated with lower risk, “which makes some people think ovulation is part of the problem,” she added. While the exact cause is unclear, there are several factors that are known to elevate your risk of developing this disease.
—Stephanie V. Blank, MD, Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Women’s Health, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Director, Gynecologic Oncology, Mount Sinai Health System