Vice-president, Education and Professional Development, Executive Director, Cross Country University

Vol. 4 No.2 co nt in ui ng educationfor n ursing I n T h i s I s s u e O varian cancer has been called “the disease that whispers”.1 Because there are no useful screening tools and no specific symptoms, 75 % of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages. Ovarian cancer accounts for a full one-third of all gynecological cancers but re-sults in over 50 % of deaths from those can-cers. In the year 2002, about 23,300 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the USA and approximately 13,900 women died.2 Today, most women with ovar-ian cancer will achieve remission – even those with advanced disease on diagnosis. However, most ovarian cancer will recur. Improvements in surgical techniques and new chemotherapy agents are the primary reasons for remission. From 1970 to 2001, median survival improved from 12 to 36 months.3 Etiology There are three types of ovarian can-cer. Over 90 % are epithelial tumors, arising from the cells that line most of the ovary. It is most common in older women. The other two types of ovarian cancer are germ cell and stromal tumors. These tumors are rela-tively rare and occur in younger patients.