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Ovarian cancer

Prevention & detection | Diagnostics & staging | Treatments | Our team | For physicians | Ovarian cancer home | Gynecologic cancer home

The ovaries are female reproductive organs about the shape and size of almonds. Ovaries produce eggs and the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Ovarian cancer occurs when cells divide and grow abnormally in one or both ovaries causing tissue damage. Sometimes no symptoms are apparent until late in the tumor's development. The earlier the cancer is diagnosed the higher the survival rate.

Aurora features specialized gynecologic oncologists at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center, the Aurora Women's Pavilion at Aurora West Allis Medical Center and Aurora BayCare Medical Center who offer the most treatments for gynecologic cancer in Wisconsin.

Aurora physicians were the first in Wisconsin to perform robotic-assisted gynecologic surgery. And as principal investigators with the national Gynecologic Oncology Group, they make the latest cancer treatments available to patients through clinical trials.

Learn more about ovarian cancer or request a consultation.

Types of ovarian cancer

Epithelial tumors, which originate on the surface of the ovary, are the most common form of ovarian cancer. Some epithelial tumors are benign (non-cancerous) or considered to have a low malignancy potential (unlikely to become cancerous). Ovarian tumors, in general, can grow to be quite large and disrupt various functions of the body so even non-cancerous tumors may need to be treated.

Other types of ovarian tumors include:

• Primary peritoneal carcinoma – Cancer of the peritoneum, the membrane lining of the abdomen covering the reproductive organs.
• Germ cell tumor – Originating in the egg cells, germ cell tumors usually affect only one ovary, and typically in young women and teenage girls.
• Stromal tumor – Originating from the connective tissue of the ovaries, stromal tumors may produce symptoms such as male pattern hair growth and changes in menstruation.
• Ovarian cyst – This fluid-filled sac in the ovary may be benign, disappear over time, or be related to diseases, including cancer.
• Fallopian tube cancer – The fallopian tubes carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. It's more common for cancer to spread to the fallopian tubes from the ovary than for cancer to originate there.

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