Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Ovarian Cancer

Definition

Ovarian cancer is a disease in which the cells in the ovaries become abnormal, start to grow uncontrollably, and form tumors. Ninety percent of all ovarian cancers

develop in the cells that line the surface of the ovaries and are called epithelial cell tumors.

Description

The ovaries are a pair of almond-shaped organs that lie in the pelvis on either side of the uterus. The fallopian tubes connect the ovaries to the uterus. The ovaries produce and release usually one egg each month during the menstrual cycle. Along with the adrenal gland, the ovaries also produce the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, which regulate and maintain the secondary female sexual characteristics.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women in the United States. It accounts for 4% of all cancers in women....