Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Follow and join the conversation with #ovariancancer and #30DaysofTeal

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (@OCRF) and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (@OCNA) have come together and formed the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance (@ocrfa) to lead in advocacy, research and support for patients and their families.

Facts and Statistics
Ovarian cancer is a growth of abnormal malignant (cancerous) cells that begins in the ovaries. Any cancers that start in another part of the body and spread to the ovaries is not considered ovarian cancer. Ovarian tumors can be benign (and do not spread to other parts of the body) or malignant (and can spread directly to other organs or through the bloodstream and lymph nodes.) There are four types of ovarian cancer with the differences being where the origin of the tumor occurs. The four types are called: Epithelial tumors, Germ cell carcinoma tumors, Stromal carcinoma tumors, Small cell carcinoma of the ovary.  90 percent of ovarian cancers begin with epithelial tumors. Approximately 21,980 women are diagnosed each year with this disease. One in 75 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer during her lifetime, and the risk of dying from the disease is 1 in 100. Ovarian cancer is the 8th most common cancer among women, but the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women. The percentage of women surviving past five years after their diagnosis is 45.6%.

Get Involved
There are several ways to get involved to help fight the battle against ovarian cancer. Donating funds, contributing time and resources, organizing fundraisers, providing advocacy and wearing teal are all ways to get involve and show support. If you are a survivor, sharing your own story could make the difference in many who are currently struggling with this disease. To find out how to take any of these ideas to the next level, click here. For specific events, walks and 5K runs, online twitter chats #gyncsm, charity auctions, and golf outings happen across the country during the month of September, click here.