The Challenges of Managing Ovarian Cancer in theDeveloping World

Ovarian cancer has high morbidity and mortality rates among cancers of the reproductive system. The disease typically presents atlate stage when the 5-year relative survival rate is only 29%. Similarly, access to prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and palliativecare for cancer-related disease is insufficient. The availability of cancer treatments in Africa is especially poor.Case. A 17-year-oldlady, nulliparous, was admitted with complaint of abdominal swelling and loss of weight and a huge left ovarian cyst revealed byultrasound scan. Laparotomy was done, and a mass which resembled a hemorrhagic solid tumor was found. Grossly, the leftovarian mass measured15:0×20:0×8:0cm and a left salpingectomy was performed. Two months later, she came back withlower limb swelling progressively increased in a week with vulvar edema, with a palpable mass. She was discharged on requestby her relatives for traditional medicine. One year later, she passed on in an unrevealed picture. The management of ovariancancer is too challenging in low-resource countries, from hospital settings to the communities with poor cancer awareness. It istherefore imperative that healthcare resources, policies, and planning focus to be coordinated in a rational way