1.Introduction

     Our chosen area in the topic is ovarian cancer as it is one of the top most common cancers in women in Singapore but is not that well known and addressed oftenly by people. 

    Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary Ovarian cancer is a malignant tumor in one or both ovaries. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses. They are believed to arise from the surface (epithelium) of the ovary, however, some evidence suggests that the fallopian tube could also be the source of some ovarian cancers. Ovarian cancers are included in the category gynecologic cancer. Ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cancer in Singapore, based on a 2012 Singapore Cancer Statistics. There are at least 280 cases diagnosed yearly based on the Singapore Cancer Research Studies that we found online. 

There is no confirmed cause for ovarian cancer but there are factors, which contribute to the risk. Some of the factors are late menopause, early onset of menstruation, late pregnancy and the family. Women who have had children are less likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who have not, and breastfeeding may also reduce the risk of certain types of ovarian cancer. Tubal ligation and hysterectomy reduce the risk and removal of both tubes and ovaries dramatically reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is known to run in some families where family members may have increased risk of getting ovarian, breast and endometrial cancer or increased risk of getting endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer in addition to ovarian cancer.

We have chosen this topic, as cancer is the number 5 killer in Singapore and it is rarely explored even though it’s one of the top few cancer in Singapore for females. We would want to find out more about ovarian cancer, such as the risks, factors, symptoms etc.  as it is quite common in females of Singapore and only not raise awareness about it, but also to know if it can be prevented or reduced in terms of risk.

To broaden our further with further knowledge, we decided to touch abit on Breast Cancer, the number 1 cancer in Singapore. We would also like to learn more about Breast Cancer as it is also a top women cancer like Ovarian Cancer.