Ovarian Cancer is a serious and under-recognized threat to women's health.

• Ovarian cancer, the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers, is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among women living in the U.S.
  
  
• Ovarian cancer occurs in 1 out of 57 women.
  
  
• It is expected that 22,220 women will be diagnosed with the disease in 2005.
  
  
• An estimated 16,210 American women will die from ovarian cancer in 2005.
  

Ovarian Cancer is very treatable when it is detected early, but the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed until the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries.

• Ovarian cancer may be difficult to diagnose because symptoms are sometimes subtle and may be easily confused with those of other diseases.
  
  
• In cases where ovarian cancer is detected before it has spread beyond the ovaries, more than 95% of women survive longer than five years.
  
  
• Only 29% of the ovarian cancer cases in the U.S. are diagnosed in the early stages.
  
  
• The chances for a five-year survival rate of an advanced stage diagnosis is approximately 31%.
  
  
• The overall 5-year survival rate for all stages is 53%.
  

Raising public awareness of ovarian cancer by educating doctors and women about the disease saves lives.

• Many people do not know that ovarian cancer often presents with the following symptoms: abdominal pressure, bloating, or discomfort; nausea, indigestion, or gas; constipation, diarrhea, or frequent urination; abnormal bleeding; unusual fatigue; unexplained weight loss or gain; shortness of breath.
  
  
• Early recognition of symptoms is the best way to save women's lives. Without increased education about ovarian cancer, many women and their doctors will continue to ignore or misinterpret the symptoms of the disease.
  
  
• Recognition of women who are at higher risk for developing ovarian cancer is also important. Risk factors include: increasing age, personal or family history of ovarian, breast, or colon cancer, and not bearing a child.
  
  
• Ninety percent of women diagnosed do not have a family history that puts them at a higher risk for ovarian cancer.
  

More ovarian cancer research is needed to develop early detection tools, prevention methods, enhanced therapies, and a cure.

• There are still large gaps in knowledge on key scientific aspects of the disease.
  
  
• There is still no reliable and easy-to-administer screening test for ovarian cancer, like the Pap smear for cervical cancer and the mammogram for breast cancer.
  
  
• Research on ovarian cancer is drastically under-funded relative to the high mortality rate. In 2002, the NCI allocated only about one-fifth as much money to ovarian cancer research ($93.5 million) as to breast cancer research ($522.6 million), and one-third as much to prostate cancer research ($278.4 million).