A recent study in the UK reveals that the number of women dying from ovarian cancer has fallen by 26 per cent in the last 20 years. Experts attribute the progress to earlier diagnosis and better treatment of the disease that most women are still unaware of.

Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Over the past decades, ovarian cancer has been the major cause of death among women in developing countries, in particular, and in the world, in general. The disease is the fourth gynecological cancer in the world. For a long while, the mere mention of ovarian cancer was enough reason to create panic among women, considering the hazardous damages on human life. However, the situation of ovarian cancer seems to be improving in the recent years.

In Cameroon, the rate of women surviving from ovarian cancer has improved in recent years. Prof Emile Mboudou of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric Hospital told Cameroon Tribune that ovarian cancer is a severe condition all over the world because the diagnosis is difficult for there are no specific symptoms. In Cameroon, he explained, there are means of diagnosis such as Echography Ultra sounds, Computerised Tomography (CT scan), the Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) and a lot of biological tests. After diagnosis, the patient is treated and then sent to complete the treatment with chemotherapy for at least five years. Prof Emile Mboudou further explained that the improvement in the number of surviving cases of ovarian cancer is due to the training of more medical staff. "We have the expertise but most patients lack money," he said. However, he disclosed, government is subsidising treatment for cancer by reducing the cost of the drugs.

In spite of such efforts, Prof Mboudou regretted, most women prefer going after native treatment before coming to the hospital when the situation gets complicated.