Reducing Your Risk of Ovarian Cancer
En Español (Spanish Version)
At this time, there are no specific guidelines for the prevention of
ovarian cancer
because the cause is unknown; however, women who have had children and who have breastfed them are at lower risk for developing ovarian cancer.
Genetic testing may help identify patients who should consider having a
salpingo-oophorectomy
. This procedure involves removing both ovaries and the fallopian tubes. It may be done, in some cases, to prevent ovarian cancer in high-risk women, such as:
-
Women with a first degree relative with ovarian or
breast cancer
- Women who have had breast cancer before age 40
- Women who test positive for a genetic mutation (BRCA1 or BRCA2)
The surgery is the only proven method to reduce the risk of getting this often fatal disease.
To reduce your risk:
- Have an annual health checkup with a pelvic exam
- Maintain a healthy weight so the doctor can easily feel your ovaries
Kasper DL, Harrison TR.
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine.
14th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 1998.
Ovarian cancer. National Cancer Institute
website. Available at:
http://www.cancer.gov/
.
Accessed April 8, 2009.
Last Reviewed September 2012