Ovarian cancer starts in the cell tissues of the ovaries. Ovaries are a pair of organs from the feminine reproductive system. Similar to egg bags, ovaries release one egg every month. Most ovarian cancers are either epithelial carcinomas (begin in the cells of the ovary’s surface) or malignant germ cell tumours (begin in cells of the eggs).

Although ovarian cancer is the seventh most diagnosed type of cancer in Canadian women, it is the fifth most important cause of cancer-attributed deaths amongst Canadian women. The relative 5-year survival rate for ovarian cancer in Canada is estimated at 42%. 

It has been estimated that for the year 2011, 2,600 new ovarian cancer diagnoses would be made in Canada and 1,750 Canadian women would die from the disease. Based on recent statistics, one in 69 Canadian women is expected to develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime; one in 92 women will die of the disease.

This section is still in construction. Please come back shortly for a more complete description of the disease.

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