6 ways to reduce your risk of ovarian cancer

While not as common as breast cancer, ovarian cancer is still a threat. Use this advice to help you lower your chances of getting ovarian cancer.

• Studies have found that women who've used oral contraceptives have a 27 percent lower risk of developing ovarian cancer than women who never have.
• On top of that, every five years of use reduced the risk by about 20 percent. After 15 years of use, the risk was halved.
• Even better, the protective effect of oral contraceptives lasts 30 years after a woman stops taking them.
• The downsides of oral contraceptives include a higher risk of blood clots.

• Because breastfeeding suppresses ovulation, it can also reduce your risk of ovarian cancer.
• One study of nearly 150,000 nurses found that women who had ever breastfed a child — no matter for how long — reduced their risk by 14 percent.
• Those who breastfed for 18 months or longer cut their risk by one-third.
• Overall, each month of breastfeeding reduced the risk of ovarian cancer by two percent.

• Done having babies? Opt for a tubal ligation, an operation in which your Fallopian tubes are cut and sealed shut.
• Many studies find that it reduces the risk of ovarian cancer by at least one-third overall and by up to 60 percent in women who carry the BRCA1 genetic mutation.
• One reason may be that when the tubes are closed off, cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins can't travel from the vagina and cervix.

• Made from magnesium silicate, talcum powder is linked with an increased risk of ovarian cancer in some studies. It's even been found embedded in some ovarian cancers.
• One study found that women who used talcum powder in the genital area or on sanitary pads had a 50 to 70 percent increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
• The link may be related to the inflammation or to the fact that decades ago, the powder was contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen.

• If you have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, you also have about a 30 percent increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
• Iif you do get the cancer, your risk of dying from it is 50 percent higher than that of women with a healthier BMI.
• The reason is probably related to the fact that fat cells release chemicals that are eventually converted to estrogen. This hormone fuels the growth of reproductive cancers like ovarian cancer.

• If you're related to someone who's had ovarian cancer or breast cancer before menopause, talk to your doctor. You might carry a mutation of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.
• These mutations significantly increase your risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
• If genetic screening shows you do carry the gene, you may want to consider having your ovaries removed.
• Studies show such a surgery can reduce your risk of ovarian cancer by 96 percent, and of breast cancer by 50 percent.

While breast cancer is far more common in women, ovarian cancer is far more deadly. That's because most of the time, it isn't discovered until the late stages, when it's much more difficult to treat. But the good news is researchers have found numerous steps you can take to reduce your risk.