Ovaries produce eggs and female hormones during a woman’s reproductive life. Women have two ovaries, one on either side of the uterus (womb) in the lower abdomen.
The organs and tissues of the body are made up of tiny building blocks called cells. When your body’s cells are healthy, they grow and divide to make new cells. When old cells die, new ones take their place. Cancer is a disease of these cells. A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. However, the exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. Cancerous tumours have the ability to spread beyond the original site, and if left untreated, it may invade and destroy surrounding tissues. Sometimes, cells break away from the original (primary) cancer and spread to other organs in the body via the bloodstream or lymphatic system. When these cells reach a new site they may continue to divide and form a new tumour, often referred to as “metastasis”.
There are various types of ovarian cancer. They are classified by the type of cell from which the cancer originates.
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