DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 66-year outdated post-menopausal lady who’s scheduled subsequent month for a hysterectomy to appropriate a pelvic organ prolapse. There isn’t any historical past of ovarian most cancers in my household. My first interval was at age 12, and menopause occurred for me at age 51. I used contraception capsules.My gynecologist is leaving the choice as much as me. I’ve learn that ovaries nonetheless produce vital hormones after menopause. What are your ideas on protecting my ovaries or going by with this process? — D.F.ANSWER: I like to recommend prophylactically eradicating the ovaries throughout a hysterectomy solely when a girl is at a excessive threat for ovarian most cancers. You haven’t recognized any threat elements for ovarian most cancers. You don’t have early menarche (first interval earlier than age 12) or late menopause (age 55 or better), each of which enhance the danger.Having taken contraception capsules or having kids decreases the danger of ovarian most cancers. Because the lifetime threat of ovarian most cancers in a median threat lady is simply over 1%, your threat goes to be under this, and there’s not a big profit in eradicating your ovaries from this standpoint.Eradicating the ovaries drastically reduces ovarian most cancers threat (by greater than 90%), however doesn’t eradicate it totally. It’s because there are extra tissues, which include the identical cells that flip into ovarian most cancers. In youthful girls, eradicating the ovaries reduces breast most cancers threat, however there is no such thing as a confirmed profit in girls over 60.Nonetheless, there’s confirmed hurt from eradicating the ovaries, other than the small threat throughout surgical procedure. Girls who bear this process are at the next threat for coronary heart illness and general dying, in addition to persistent kidney illness. However these dangers have been discovered primarily in girls who have been youthful than you on the time of surgical procedure.For ladies at a median threat of ovarian most cancers, the perfect information we’ve got counsel that removing of the ovaries doesn’t present a internet profit for menopausal girls and doubtless causes internet hurt to youthful girls.In a latest Mayo Clinic research, solely 2.5% of girls had elective removing of their ovaries on the time of a hysterectomy. Girls with a excessive threat of ovarian most cancers, equivalent to these with a robust household historical past or who’re identified to have a genetic predisposition (such because the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes), ought to focus on their choices with a genetic counselor.DEAR DR. ROACH: I don’t keep in mind anybody having peanut allergy symptoms within the ‘60s and ‘70s after I was at school. Now it appears peanut allergy symptoms are in every single place. What modified? Are peanuts totally different, or are individuals? — S.S.ANSWER: Peanut allergy symptoms have elevated lately, with 0.4% of individuals reported in 1997; 0.8% in 2002; and 1.4% in 2008. The newest information stay between 1% to 2%. The precise purpose why isn’t clear, but it surely’s not as a result of peanuts are totally different.From my studying, the almost certainly reply is that children aren’t getting uncovered to peanuts at a really younger age, which protects in opposition to the event of a peanut allergy. Nonetheless, makes an attempt to extend peanut publicity to infants weren’t profitable at lowering peanut allergy symptoms in a national trial in Australia.Extra adviceDr. Roach regrets that he’s unable to reply particular person letters, however will incorporate them within the column each time doable. Readers might electronic mail inquiries to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or ship mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.(c) 2022 North America Syndicate Inc.All Rights Reserved