There are many factors that contribute to why ovarian cancer is detected at later stages. Dr. Erin Salinas explains to us why this occurs.
For one, there are no effective screening tests: “There are pap smears to detect [pre-cancerous
or cancerous cervical lesions], colonoscopies for colon cancer and mammograms to help screen for breast cancer, but for ovarian cancer there are no effective screening tests,” says Dr. Salinas.
It’s also important for women to know that their family histories might impact their risk. The BRCA gene mutation, for example, can increase risk of ovarian cancer at any age — but mostly in women over 30.
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