World Ovarian Cancer Day Is On 8 May 2025
Verified By
KIMS-SUNSHINE
Specialist,
02 May, 2025
World Ovarian Cancer is a widely celebrated medical awareness day. It is a thematic, annual event that happens on the 8 of May, every year. Ovarian cancer affects millions of women or individuals assigned female at birth and its incidence is a particularly worrying aspect in India- about 5-7 women per 1,00,000 women respectively. What is worse- early detection is almost unheard of and most cases are diagnosed late, which means treatment and prognosis can get much worse with delayed diagnosis. Comprehensive studies have shown that it is the fourth most common cancer in the country. For some reason, younger women below 50 years of age get affected in India, when compared to the west- where the median age of diagnosis is 63 years of age. Like any other disease, the later it is diagnosed, the poorer the prognosis is. But, with early screening and timely diagnosis, there is an 80% chance or higher of survival and remission in the long run.
All About World Ovarian Cancer Day-
Ovarian cancer can be divided into various stages- with 1 and 2 being early stages, while 3 and 4 are advanced, requiring more aggressive treatment approaches than average. The important thing to remember is early screening is crucial for timely diagnosis and improved treatment outcomes. This is the crux of the issue in developing countries- where reliable screening tests and proper infrastructure are harder to come by. Women are way more reluctant to get a health checkup done in general and cite life, responsibilities and more work for this. This can lead to late diagnosis, which typically means individuals won’t survive treatment or it will be too rigorous for them to deal with, causing other chronic issues.
World Ovarian Cancer Day was first celebrated in 2013. Ovarian cancer does not receive a lot of attention as its symptoms are pretty common, or even asymptomatic, until it has reached later stages. By then, the prognosis is already bad. In India, ovarian cancer is a particularly hard public healthcare issue to deal with, as many women ignore symptoms and don’t get screened or tested regularly. Ovarian cancer is mostly genetic, but women who deal with endometriosis, or are postmenopausal, infertility, long term hormone replacement therapy are at high risk of developing this condition. Another aspect is the absence of early screening or tests that can correctly help detect any cellular changes- like a pap smear.
Theme For 2025-
The theme for this year is a continuation of the last one- ‘No Woman Left Behind’- where emphasis is hence placed on increasing awareness of ovarian cancer- with respect to its symptoms, early screening, prevention, timely diagnosis and possible treatment options that are available, depending on the stage of cancer. World Ovarian Cancer Day has also been abbreviated to WOCD. Early screening also needs a woman to understand what the worrisome symptoms may be- like an urge to pee often, abdominal bloating, feeling tired most of the time, pelvic pain, abdominal pain, changes in their monthly cycle, back pain, or not being able to eat normally. The problem is- these symptoms can be observed in other instances too and can often be ignored. This is also why ovarian cancer is so hard to detect at early stages.
Conclusion
Ovarian cancer affects millions of women in India and almost 80% of cases get diagnosed way too late, when the cancer has grown or metastasised so much, that treatment and prognosis get much worse than usual. Since women get diagnosed very late, their 5 year and 10 year survival rates also suffer adversely. This day helps everyone understand and advocate for this disease- so that women get the help they need at the right time. Treatment of ovarian cancer involves the use of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and the administration of adjuvants after the main treatment regimen is done- to help eradicate all traces of cancerous cells in the body.
