Taking Control of Your Ovarian Cancer Risk

"Using birth control pills can decrease ovarian cancer risk by about 40%," says Dr. Zempolich. "That's a very large decrease in the amount of risk women can expect to have across their lifetime."

This risk reduction is most significant in women who have used birth control for at least five years, she adds, although there's still some benefit for women who have taken birth control for less than five years.

Birth control pills do have risks of their own, though. They can cause mild side effects like headaches, nausea, bloating, and breast tenderness. Less often, they may increase the risk for blood clots, especially in women who smoke, as well as for breast cancer. It’s important to consider the risks and benefits carefully with your doctor before you decide to go on the pill.

Other Ways to Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk

A few other preventive measures that may decrease ovarian cancer risk in women include:

• Having children before age 35
• Not using high-dose or long-term hormone replacement therapy after menopause
• Practicing healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating a well-balanced diet, doing moderate daily exercise, and getting enough quality sleep at night

Surgical Steps to Prevent Ovarian Cancer

Women who have a genetic predisposition to this disease, such as a family history or mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, may want to take more radical steps to protect their long-term health. One such step might include having prophylactic surgery–surgery before you show any signs of disease, to prevent ovarian cancer.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) recommend that women with a BRCA1 mutation have surgery to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes (called salpingo-oophorectomy) once they’re done having children, or at age 35 to 40. Those who carry a BRCA2 mutation should have this surgery by age 40 to 45.

Removing the fallopian tubes along with the ovaries is important. "Something we have learned over the past five or 10 years is that many, if not all, ovarian cancers start in the fallopian tubes and then develop and spread to the ovaries by the time we find them," says Dr. Zempolich.

In women at risk who choose to have a tubal ligation (also known as getting their tubes tied) to prevent future pregnancies, Dr. Zempolich suggests instead taking out the fallopian tubes completely, to prevent tubal cancers as well as a possible early onset of ovarian cancer later on.

Discussing Your Risk

If you're concerned about your chances of developing ovarian cancer one day, the best place to start is with your primary care physician or OB/GYN. As part of the decision-making process, your doctor should have your full personal and family health history, so that together you can find the best preventive method for you.

Your doctor will assess your risk, and if necessary, refer you to a genetic counselor for further testing. You may need screening with a CA-125 blood test and transvaginal ultrasound if you are at greater risk for ovarian cancer. If you have a genetic mutation, the genetic counselor and your doctor can walk you through some of the more permanent preventive measures, such as surgery to remove the fallopian tubes, uterus, and/or ovaries. Whatever steps you do decide to take should be made after carefully weighing your risk of getting ovarian cancer against the side effects of the method used to prevent it.

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