Beat the odds
The ovaries are two small almond shaped organs each measuring 2-4cm across that sit on either side of the uterus. The ovaries produce eggs for reproduction and the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which regulate your menstrual cycle.
Ovarian cancer occurs when some of the cells in one or both ovaries start to grow abnormally and develop into cancer. Unfortunately it’s more common than people realise. Every year approximately 7,500 British women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, most of them in an advanced stage of the disease.
A number of risk factors are linked to an increased chance of developing ovarian cancer, including age, family history, changes in genes, early onset of periods, late menopause, childlessness, infertility, first child after 30, never taking oral contraceptives, and using oestrogen only hormone replacement therapy or fertility treatment.
The key is catching it early. When detected early, ovarian cancer survival rates are better than 80%. Find it late, and those survival rates drop to 30%. And that’s why we’ve designed this simple ovarian cancer test which screens for the cancer antigen 125 (CA-125).
