Even though millions of women die due to ovarian cancer every year, when you look at the overall survival rates, results are pretty encouraging. This however is possible only if you diagnose the disease early enough for the treatments to be effective.
Advanced stages of ovarian cancer do not offer such encouraging numbers for women to be happy about. When you look at the overall rate of cancers affecting women, ovarian cancer accounts for only 3% of the cases which points to the fact that it is not so prevalent a cancer for women to be so worried about.
A bit of care and concern during your healthy days and a watchful eye is all you need to remain healthy and happy in your entire life. Every year 15, 000 women die as the cancer is detected late and treatment methods are not as affective.
Susceptibility
Mostly, ovarian cancer is more prevalent among older women who are over the age of 55. These are the women who are more likely to lose their lives to the disease because of age and reduced immunity. Two thirds of the reported deaths due to ovarian cancer are in women who are above 55. The cancer is not so uncommon among younger women of the age group 35-54 with 25 percent of the death rates accounted for in this category.
Early Diagnosis And Survival Rates For Ovarian Cancer
As in the case of all types of cancers, early detection offers great hope for patients to taste complete cure. Early stages have less invasive treatment methods and the women are not exposed to the harmful effects of a chemotherapy and radiation treatment which can again make them susceptible to a recurrence. The survival rates are as high as 92.7 percent in this category. According to statistics, stage IA has 93% survival rates and stage IA, IB and IC has a combined survival rate between 84.7- 92.7 percentage.
Survival Rate Of Second Stage
With stage II, the survival rates plummet to 64.4 to 78.6 percentages. In this stage, the cancer is not just confined to the ovaries, but has spread to other areas in the pelvic region, making the treatment methods more rigorous and challenging.
Survival Rate Of Third Stage Ovarian Cancer
The third stage ovarian cancer is an advanced stage when the cancer has spread out of the pelvic region and has affected the lymph nodes and the abdominal region. The symptoms will be more pronounced at this stage, making women notice the changes and discomfort. The survival rate at this stage is a dismal 31.5- 50.8%. At this stage, the chances of your survival depend on how big the tumour in the ovary is and how far it has affected the nearby organs.
Survival Rate Of Fourth Stage Ovarian Cancer
The final stage when the cancer might have metastasised to other important organs like the liver and lungs, the chances of survival at this stage are very dim. The treatment method too will have limitations due to the extent of the spread. There is only 17.5 % survival rate at this stage of ovarian cancer.
