Female Reproductive System: A Case Study

The ovary plays a very important role in the female reproductive system. The ovaries are two small almond shape organ located in the pelvic cavity, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries are responsible for storing and releasing the ova and producing female sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Normally in the body, the ovary will grow new cells and the old cell will die. However, if the cells are growing out of control within the body it will cause an overgrowth. The overgrowth of the abnormal cells can be consider or call a tumor. The tumor in the ovary can lead to ovarian cancer, which is overgrowth of cells that are benign or malignant. There are also different types of ovarian cancers, which are classified according to the cell from where they start. The cancerous ovarian tumors can start from the most common cell type, which are the epithelium, germ cells, stromal cells. More importantly, ovarian will be classified in four stages. Stage I will be early stage and stage IV would be at advance stage. A person with ovarian cancer will not know she has the cancer until the persistence signs and symptoms begin. Ovarian cancer is more difficult to detect in the early stages. This disease is vague and silent in the beginning stages because of the two small almond shapes organs are deep within the abdominal tissue. Women with ovarian cancer will have mild to no symptoms until the disease progress in the advanced stage. A person with ovarian cancer will experience certain signs and symptoms. These symptoms can be pelvic or abdominal pain, urinary urgency, bloating or gas, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, indigestion, nausea, and constipation. Other symptoms may likely to occur like fatigue, upset stomach or heartburn, back pain, pain during sex and menstrual changes. Without treatment and making lifestyle changes, the ovarian cancer can cause persistence symptoms. This typically occurs in the advanced stages when the tumor growth creates pressure on the bladder and rectum, and fluid begins to form. If any of the signs and symptoms appears, a diagnosis test and treatment should be made. Most women don’t know they have ovarian cancer because the signs and symptoms are not as pronounce or might think its something minor. Determining the stage and type of ovarian cancer is very important because it tells us the type treatment the person will receive. The cancerous ovarian tumors start from the most common cell type which are the epithelium—cells covering the lining of the ovaries, germ cells—cells that are destined to from the eggs, stromal cells—cells that release hormones and connect the different structures of the ovaries. The ovarian cancer can also be defined in four stages as well as using the TNM staging system. One tool that doctors use to describe the stage is the TNM systems. TNM is an abbreviation for tumors, nodes, and metastasized. Doctors use the results from diagnostic tests and scans to answer these following questions. How large is the primary tumor? Where is it located? Has the tumor spread to the lymph nodes? If so, where and how many? Has the cancer metastasized to other parts of the body? If so, where and how much has it spread to. The group staging system is another way to …show more content…
There are two main types of treatment surgery and chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is another form of treatment use for tumor, but it is rarely use for ovarian cancers. Surgery will be done to remove the cancer. It is a common method use for diagnosing and therapy for ovarian cancer. During the surgery, the surgeon will remove the ovaries, fallopian tube, uterus, lymph nodes which consider a hysterectomy. If the caner has spread to other parts of the body, the surgeon will perform a debulking surgery. Chemotherapy is medication that travels through the bloodstream to destroy the cancer cells. Most women who received chemotherapy will start treatment after surgery. The chemotherapy is performed in sessions and is follow by a period of rest. However, many patients face recurrence and will have to do further treatment or clinical trails is another method the women try. Medication use is carbonplatin by injection or