ovarian cancer in women.
Cancer and Women’s Health
Instructions: • Research ovarian cancer in women.
• Locate and review articles examining the type of cancer you selected.
• Review the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force article in the Learning Resources. Think about available preventive services that providers might recommend for patients at risk of this type of cancer.
• Select two of the following factors: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior. Reflect on how these factors might impact decisions related to preventive services.
• Consider drug treatment options for patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer including short-term and long-term implications of the treatments.
To complete:
Write a 2- to 3- page paper that addresses the following:
• Describe available preventive services that providers might recommend for patients at risk of ovarian cancer.
• Explain how the factors you selected might impact decisions related to preventive services.
• Describe drug treatment options for patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Explain the short-term and long-term implications of these treatments.
Solution.
Cancer and Women’s Health Essay.
Introduction
Ovarian cancer is an inflammatory disease that affects some women worldwide. Ovarian cancer is often concealed when it affects the pelvic regions. Ovarian cancer is believed to a leading cause of death as each year nearly 22,800 women are diagnosed with cancer in the US, and 14,240 will die (Cancer Research Institute, 2016). Nine out of ten ovarian cancer are epithelial inflammatory. Other common types of ovarian cancer include borderline ovarian tumors and germ cell and other rare ovarian tumors. The US Preventive Services Task Force commends that ovarian cancer should not be screened in women, especially asymptomatic women. Alternatively, women who have a higher risk of developing cancer such as those with genetic mutations such as BRCA mutations, are not included in this recommendation (USPSTF, 2012).This paper will discuss available services that are recommended for patients at risk of ovarian cancer. Additionally, more discussions will be provided on how genetics and gender impact decisions during prevention of ovarian cancer and a review of the long term and short term implications of ovarian cancer drug therapy.
Preventive Measures and Risk Factors
Even though there is no conventional way of preventing ovarian cancer, researchers have come up with possible preventive measures for ovarian cancer. It is evident that women who take birth control pills, oral contraceptives for three or more years are not as much of likely to develop ovarian cancer(cite). Additionally, breastfeeding is contrariwise related with the risk of ovarian cancer, particularly long-term breastfeeding durations have indicated a stronger protective effect on the risk of developing cancer (Li, et al., 2013). Also, it is evident that women who have had a hysterectomy, also known as tubal litigation, have are less likely to develop cancer. Removal of the fallopian tubes is also recommended for women with higher chances of developing ovarian cancer.
Genetically, ovarian cancer screening is recommended for a patient who has mutations such as BRCA 1 or BRCA 2. BRCA 1 and 2 cause 15% of ovarian cancer on women (USPSTF, 2012). Clinicians recommend that a woman who considers genetic testing to be advised duly by the genetic counselor on risks and benefits analysis of the procedure. Age is a dominant risk factor in developing ovarian cancer. Research has it that ovarian cancer can occur at any age in women, but at the age of 50 and above, women are more likely to develop ovarian cancer as 68 percent of women with this disease are older than fifty-five years while 32% are younger than 55. Therefore, when administering preventive measures to ovarian cancer patients, age is a critical factor.
Drug Treatment Options
Treatment of ovarian cancer includes surgical treatment, also known as debulking and systemic chemotherapy. Drug therapy for ovarian cancer focuses on eliminating the cancer cells. They can be administered by injection into the vein or directly into the abdominal cavity. Ovarian cancer drug treatment is done by one or combination of different drugs. Treatment is dependent on the stages of ovarian cancer. Common Short-term drug combinations include cisplatin or carboplatin combined with paclitaxel or docetaxel. For long term treatment clinicians administer carboplatin because of its minimal side effects. Other drugs used for ovarian cancer treatment include Altretamine, Capecitabine, Etoposide and so on (Cancer Research Institute, 2016).
The side effects that an ovarian cancer patient faces include nausea and vomiting, loss of hair, mouth sores, and rashes on hand and foot. Also, chemotherapy can have damaged the red and white cells in the bone marrow, hence, low blood counts which can lead to bleeding after minor cuts, increased risk of other infections and fatigue (Arcangelo & Peterson, 2013). Long-Term drugs often result in the enrichment of the ovarian cells, stem-like cells, which results in an increased tumor burden that can cause death (Abubaker, et al., 2013).
Conclusion
Ovarian cancer has been one of the leading cause of death in the US. With USPSTF recommendations, clinicians must adhere fully to the screening rights of patients. Additionally, some risk factors are associated with ovarian cancer such as age, gender, and genetics. Even though there is no outstanding prevention measure for ovarian cancer, it is advisable that any signs and symptoms occurrence in a patient must seek urgent medical attention. Ovarian cancer can be treated with surgery and systemic chemotherapy. Clinicians always recommend drugs that have lesser side effects either as a long term or short term treatment. Stages of ovarian cancer are unique and have unique types of drugs (Arcangelo & Peterson, 2013).
References
Abubaker, K., Latifi, A., Luwor, R., Nazaretian, S. Z., Quinn, M. A., & Ahmed, N. (2013). Short-term single treatment of chemotherapy results in the enrichment of ovarian cancer stem cell-like cells leading to an increased tumor burden. Molecular Cancer, 12(1), 1.
Arcangelo, V. P., & Peterson, A. M. (2013). Asthma (3rd ed.). (V. P. Arcangelo, & A. M. Peterson, Eds.) Ambler, Pennsylvania, United States of America: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Cancer Research Institute. (2016, March 12). Cancer ImmunoTherapy: Ovarian Cancer. Retrieved August 6, 2016, from Cancer Research Institute: http://www.cancerresearch.org/cancer-immunotherapy/impacting-all-cancers/ovarian-cancer?gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwfGOA3PawP-E9qO1BlMFg9DYehvyBZjae1C6rZr3HzRoCngXw_wcB
Li, D. P., Du, C., Zhang, Z. M., Li, G. X., Yu, Z. F., Wang, X., & Zhao, Y. S. (2013). Breastfeeding and Ovarian cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 40 Epidemiological Studies. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention: APJCP,, 15(12), 4829-4837.
USPSTF. (2012, September 11). US Preventive Services Task Force. Retrieved from Ovarian Cancer: Screening: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/UpdateSummaryFinal/ovarian-cancer-screening?ds=1&s=ovarian%20cancer
