And while no one type is easy to take down, some are more difficult than others, enter ovarian cancer.

According to Ovarian Cancer Australia, five women a day are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and, unfortunately, of those five three will die.

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As if that wasn't difficult enough, Dr Blum said there were some misconceptions surrounding the disease.

"Currently, we don't have a screening program that is effective - unlike breast cancer or prostate cancer," he said.

"Some may think you can detect it through a pap smear, but that's just for cervical cancer."

As the ovaries sit behind the abdomen with a lot of area surrounding them, abnormalities can be difficult to detect on an ultrasound or other tests.

Unfortunately, Dr Blum said the most common ways it was diagnosed was from the cancer presenting at a later stage or incidentally - where someone has a test for another reason and it gets picked up through that.

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"For example, someone might have an ultrasound of their pelvis or kidneys and the radiographer may scan pass something they might find abnormal and it turns out to be cancer," he said.

"The way it presents clinically also is very vague."

The symptoms may include abdominal discomfort, sensations of bloating, they could notice their abdomen swelling or changes in bowel or bladder function and fatigue, all issues that could be linked to a number of medical problems.

Dr Blum said it was important to speak up for yourself and work with your GP or clinician to come to a proper diagnosis.

"The reality is when it comes to diagnosis, unless you have something very obvious that you can see, if you're just dealing with symptoms, if the person doesn't make a point of it being important, it may not be picked up," he said.

"People know what their body feels like and if they have symptoms that are new and persistent, and they don't know what its due to, they need to follow it up.

"About 20 to 25 per cent of cases are genetically linked so if there is a family history or something suspicious, that would need to be followed up."

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Like any other disease, or your health in general, Dr Blum said there are some lifestyle changes people can make to help prevent ovarian cancer.

"With any cancer, like anything else in health, the earlier you pick something up, the less treatment you need and the better the prognosis will be," he said.

"If picked up early, the ovarian cancer survival rate is very good, in the vicinity of 90 per cent if you pick it up really early, and all you would need is an operation.

"A number of things that reduce your risk of cancer are the same for many cancers and that's things like ensuring you're a healthy weight or cutting out smoking."

Like any other form of cancer, surgery and a range of therapies can reduce the growth and improve the outcome in some cases.

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"If you do have a genetic predisposition and you know you've got it, then you can undergo an operation to have the ovaries and (fallopian tubes) removed after you've decided to have kids," Dr Blum said.

"I don't always recommend that you do this, but it's known that women who have had children or people that are on the pill have a reduced risk of getting ovarian cancer.

"But talk to your clinician about the best course of treatment for you."

If you'd like more information, visit the Bendigo Health Cancer Centre website at bendigohealth.org.au/bendigocancercentre or phone medical oncology on 5454 8815 or radiation oncology on 5454 9234.

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