March has been designated Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for good reason.

According to experts, about 20,000 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer this calendar year.

Experts also report that about 13,000 women will die from ovarian cancer in 2024, making it one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women.

A woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 87. Her lifetime chance of dying from ovarian cancer is about 1 in 130.

This cancer mainly develops in older women. About half of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 63 years or older.

It is more common in White women than Black women.

Symptoms can include:

– Abnormal vaginal discharge or bleeding after menopause.

– Bloating or swollen feeling in the stomach.

– Feeling full very soon after starting to eat.

– New urinary frequency.

– New constipation or other changes in bowel movements.

– Discomfort or pain in the pelvic area, abdomen or lower back.

– Unexplained fatigue.

Here’s the good news. Ovarian cancer diagnoses have been falling over the past few decades. The incidence rate declined by 1% to 2% per year from 1990 to the mid-2010s and by almost 3% per year from 2015 to 2019. This is likely due to more use of oral contraceptives and less use of menopausal hormone therapy.

Fewer women are dying of ovarian cancer as well, likely due to better treatments and fewer women being diagnosed.

The rate of ovarian cancer deaths has decreased by 40% since 1975. Most of this progress has happened since the mid-2000s.

Here’s the bad news. Of the 20,000 women who will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year in the United States, less than half of them will still be alive in five years.

Comparatively, women diagnosed with breast cancer have an almost 90% chance of surviving five years after diagnosis.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer and one of the most underfunded cancers when considering the relatively high mortality rate.

Early detection is absolutely essential in combating this disease. If the cancer is caught at an early stage, before it spreads to other parts of the body, women have a 92% chance of surviving for five years post-diagnosis.

However, more than three-fourths of women are not diagnosed until later stages. Hence, the designation of March as the awareness month.

We urge women to get screened and tested if they are experiencing any of the symptoms.

It can literally be a matter of life and death.