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Lung cancer one of many risks facing women lose ovaries to hysterectomies 

Bad news is the last thing Monica Baker needs. But the Ottawa ovarian cancer survivor got it recently when a new study revealed a doubled risk of lung cancer in women who have had hysterectomies in which their ovaries are removed.

The study by researchers at Université de Montreal's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine showed women who go through early menopause as a result of oophorectomy -- the removal of both ovaries -- are at twice the risk of developing lung cancer as those who do not.

It was the second study this year to link oophorectomy to lung cancer. Although more work needs to be done, scientists speculate the cause may be found in the loss of cancer-protective effect of the hormones ovaries produce.

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