Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of women’s cancers, but also the most underfunded. Treatment options and prognosis of the disease have not really changed in the past 50 years. It’s time for ovarian cancer statistics to change.

• There is no early detection test for ovarian cancer. A pap smear does not detect ovarian cancer.
• 75% of women are diagnosed at an advanced stage when the disease is harder to treat.
• Overall 5 year survival rates for ovarian cancer are only 45%.
• Overall 5 year survival rates for breast cancer are 91%- double that of ovarian cancer.
• If diagnosed early women have an 80% chance of living for 5 years.
• 2 out of 3 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will die from the disease. It is the most common cause of gynaecological cancer deaths.
• It is estimated that 1600 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year in Australia, and 1050 will die from the disease.
• Around 70 percent of patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer will have a recurrence.
• One of the factors in determining a patient’s risk of recurrence is the stage of the cancer at diagnosis
• Patients diagnosed in stage 4 have a 90-95 % chance of recurrence.
• Ovarian cancer incidence is rising and is estimated to climb by almost 55% by 2035.