Nkechi is washing plates. Carrying her baby on her back. Going to the market. Living her full, busy life. And somewhere deep inside her belly, there is a small, dull pain. Just small. It comes and goes. She buys paracetamol. She goes to sleep. The pain disappears. She forgets about it.
3 months later, that same pain comes back. This time, it refuses to go. She goes to the hospital. The doctor runs some tests. And then he sits her down.
And tells her something that changes everything. “You have ovarian cancer.”
From that small belly pain? Yes. From that small, small belly pain that she was managing with paracetamol and sleep alone. Nkechi. This is for you. And for every woman you love. Emeka, this is for your sister, your mother, your aunty, and every woman in your life.
Today, we are going to talk about ovarian cancer. What it is. How it shows up in the body. What puts you at risk. How it is managed. And most importantly, what you can do right now to protect yourself and every woman in your life.
WHAT ARE THE OVARIES, AND WHAT IS OVARIAN CANCER?
Every woman has two small organs sitting deep inside her stomach. One on the left. One on the right. We call them the ovaries. Think of them like two small tomatoes sitting quietly in the body, small, yes, but doing very, very big work.
What do these ovaries do? Two main things.
Number one: every month, they release one egg. That egg is what can become a baby when it meets sperm.
Number two: they produce hormones. Oestrogen. Progesterone. These are the chemicals that make a woman’s body work the way it works. Her monthly cycle. Her mood. Her fertility. Her energy. Everything, controlled partly by these two small organs.
Now. Ovarian cancer is what happens when the cells inside the ovary stop following the rules. Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
Normally, your cells grow, they do their job, and they die. Think of it like when you enter BRT, when you reach your bus stop, you get down, right?
Same thing for other passengers. Everything is just moving like that. But you see cancer? Cancer is that one passenger that when he reach the bus stop, he say he’s not getting down. He does not have ticket. No destination. He’s just there. Then he brings his friends. They start fighting, scattering everywhere, taking other people’s seats, blocking the middle, causing confusion for the whole bus. That is what cancer does. The cells multiply without any control. They form a lump, we call it a tumour. And if that tumour is cancerous, it does not stay quietly inside the ovary. It starts to spread. To the womb. To the intestines. To the liver. And in serious cases, even to the lungs. And that is when the problem becomes very, very dangerous.
Now, I want to say something important before we continue. Ovarian cancer and cervical cancer are NOT the same thing. I know some of you are already mixing them up in your head. Cervical cancer grows on the cervix, that is the narrow neck of the womb. Ovarian cancer grows on the ovaries, those two separate organs sitting higher up inside the belly. Different location.
Different causes. Different symptoms. Different treatment.
THE SYMPTOMS. AND WHY THEY ARE SO DANGEROUS.
Nkechi, I need your full attention here. Ovarian cancer kills so many women not because there are no symptoms, but because every symptom sounds ordinary, something you’ve felt before and moved past.
One: Bloating. That heavy, swollen stomach feeling, like Christmas jollof-and-small-chops bloat, except you didn’t eat any of that, and it keeps returning. She buys antacid, thinking it’s ulcer.
Two: Pelvic or lower belly pain, dull and coming and going. She thinks her period is coming.
Three: Feeling full after a few spoons of food — the tumor presses the stomach, leaving no space.
Four: Constantly rushing to urinate, because the growing mass presses the bladder, even when there’s little urine.
Five: Tiredness that never lifts, no matter how much you sleep — like charging a spoiled phone battery that never reaches 100. Your body is fighting something and spending all its energy on it.
Six: Unexplained weight changes loss without trying, or gain around the stomach.
Now Nkechi, look at all these symptoms. Bloating. Period pain. Tiredness. Something you ate. Stress. All of them sound like something small and manageable. That is exactly why this disease has taken so many women who thought they were fine. Doctors call it the “silent killer.” And now you understand why.
According to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, around 70% of cases are found when the cancer is in the advanced stages. Advanced stage means it has already spread far. Advanced stage means treatment becomes harder, more expensive, and the chance of survival drops. Women are not going to the hospital because the symptoms feel ordinary. And by the time the pain is impossible to ignore, it is sometimes too late for easy treatment.
That is what #NoWomanLeftBehind means. No woman should be left alone to manage symptoms that deserve proper medical attention. Not in Lagos. Not in Kano. Not in Enugu. Not in any village. No woman.
WHAT CAUSES IT? WHO IS AT RISK?
Now, let us talk about what actually puts a woman at higher risk of ovarian cancer.
One: age. Ovarian cancer mostly affects women 50 and above, especially after menopause. But younger women get it too, so nobody is completely safe.
Two: family history. If your mother, sister, or grandmother had ovarian or breast cancer, your risk is higher. There are genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2, think of them like security guards whose job is to stop bad cells from growing. When they’re not doing their job properly, trouble can enter. If cancer runs in your family, tell your doctor. This information is important.
Three: never been pregnant. Women who’ve never been pregnant may carry a slightly higher risk, because pregnancy gives the ovaries a rest from releasing eggs every month. Think of a machine that runs non-stop, the longer it runs without rest, the higher the chance something breaks. But let me be clear: not having children does not automatically mean you will get ovarian cancer.
Four: early period, late menopause. If a woman started her period very early, say age 10 or 11, and her menopause came very late, say 55 or 56, her ovaries have been releasing eggs for more years than normal. More years of ovulation, slightly higher risk.
Five: obesity. Excess weight, especially belly fat, increases risk because fat cells produce extra hormones that can throw the body’s balance off. That stomach isn’t just affecting your blood pressure and blood sugar; it’s causing more trouble than most people realise.
Am I saying any of these factors means you’ll definitely get ovarian cancer?
No. Having one or two risk factors means you need to be more careful, more aware, and more consistent with your check-ups.
Think of it like a bad road. The road being bad doesn’t mean you must have an accident. But it means you should drive carefully.
MANAGEMENT AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Now, the good news. What can you do?
- Know your family history. Ask your mother. Ask your aunties. Has anyone in your family had ovarian cancer or breast cancer? If yes, carry that information to your doctor. It is important.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains like brown rice, oats. Avoid processed food, sugary drinks, and excess oil. Move your body, even if it is 30 minutes every day, walk, move your body
- Stop smoking. There is nothing smoking is doing for you. Cigarette smoke damages cells all over the body, including the ovaries.
Treatment depends on the stage , mainly surgery to remove the tumour and chemotherapy to kill remaining cancer cells. Caught early at stage one, survival is up to 90%. That’s why check-ups matter. If something feels off; constant bloating, unexplained stomach pain, changed periods, tiredness that won’t go, please don’t manage it with paracetamol and prayer alone. See a gynaecologist.
I didn’t write this to scare anyone. Somewhere, a woman is telling herself it’s just stress. Maybe this reaches her in time. Also, share it You might save a life without knowing it.