Strange News Stories

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Ovarian Cancer – Is it really a “Silent Killer?”

Ovarian cancer was once termed the “silent killer”. The disease, which can affect women of any age but is primarily found in older women, has no obvious early symptoms, and still often goes undiagnosed by medical professionals until it is in its’ later stages.

Despite improvements in the knowledge of medical professionals in spotting the signs of ovarian cancer still only about 20% of the approximately 21,000 cases diagnosed in the US every year are caught while the disease is still in its’ earliest, most treatable stage.

One of the difficulties faced by both woman and their doctors is that early symptoms closely resemble those of a number of other conditions, including common gastrointestinal ailments.

Bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or becoming full very quickly, as well as the need to urinate on a frequent or urgent basis are the usual first symptoms displayed by a woman with ovarian cancer, but these are also symptoms of IBS and other common ailments, and the urinary problems are often chalked up by the women themselves as a simple UTI.

Unlike breast cancer, or prostate cancer in men, there is no easy test to determine the presence of ovarian cancer, although research is well underway trying to develop one. As the average gynecologist may only see four or five cases of ovarian cancer over the course of his or her career, and the early symptoms do so much resemble common gastric ailments they may spend months trying to treat a patient for a condition like IBS while unfortunately the cancer is developing, making the chances of an effective treatment outcome less likely by the day.

Public awareness of the disease has been heightened over the last couple of years though. In the US September is now considered “Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month”, and celebrities such as American actress Andie MacDowell are appearing in  commercials that encourage women to “talk about” the disease. By making more and more women aware of ovarian cancer and its early symptoms it is hoped that they will be more proactive in speaking up to their doctors about their concerns, and know to ask for additional testing if their symptoms seem to them to indicate that ovarian cancer might be present. The University of Washington also issued a list of common symptoms to medical professionals across the world that their various researchers had concluded were the most common signs doctors should be watching for in all their female patients, not just those over 40.

Perhaps, with this new slew of information and teachings ovarian cancer will finally be able to be labeled the “silent killer” no more.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 2:06 am and is filed under Ovarian Cancer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “Ovarian Cancer – Is it really a “Silent Killer?””

Gina Corday Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:55 am

I have read that there is a simple blood test that will determine ovarian cancer. I believe that this blood test should be included as part of the yearly physical. If this is the quickest surest way to unrule ovarian cancer then why not. It could save your life.

Kindly,
Gina Corday
Bermuda

steve dvorak Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

This article is just filler .states a few brief facts and no more.
My wife developed Ovarian cancer while being treated for lung cancer. yes 2 primary’s at the same time.
doctors cured 1 and missed the ovarian.
Women …please do not be misled ask for ca125 tests as standard screening for ovarian cancer.do it before it’s too late.

Thalia Jillson Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:39 pm

My mother died from ovarian cancer. She was a nurse and had no idea she had it. Thought it was her IBS acting up.
Thalia Jillson

Kelly Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

The symptoms for ovarian cancer are rarely described with much detail. Abdominal pain – how severe? general or a localized pain? Stabbing, constant, or with pressure? I have been concerned myself about the possibility of having undiagnosed ovarian cancer, but the information is SO vague that don’t have a leg to stand on when I go to the doctor. What tests can be run to rule out ovarian cancer? Can it be detected by an ultrasound? What about the absence of menses?

susie Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 1:28 am

My sister, grandmother and aunt all had and died from ovarian cancer. Please if you have any breast or ovarian cancer in your famly, get the CA125 and a pelvic ultrasound once a year. it could save your life. My sister didn’t do this, and lived two years with very aggresive treatment. I had my ovaries out at 42 which was no picnic but preventative treatment.
Recently i had a prophylactic mastectomy, and I am glad i did.
Women be proactive, force doctors to do the tests, its all about money, but if you push you get what you need.

Jane Kuttner Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 1:39 am

I am a Ovarian Cancer Survivor. My Ca 125 was never elevated and I never had bloating…I did however have abdominal discomforts which I still have today…but I insisted on a hysterectomy and I saved my own life. My doctor had such guilt it was horrid. Ca125 err on the side of positive but to confirm you would need a CAT scan. We need to push the government to find money to find a test for early detection. Im grateful to be alive and wish I could help the countless others who will fall prey to this disease. You have advocate for yourself and insist that tests be done.

artie Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 1:39 am

I am a survivor of ovarian cancer. Three years ago I was diagnosed with Stage I ovarian cancer. I am one of the lucky ones. Most are not diagnosed until stage 3 0r 4.
I have myself and my GYN to thank. I pay attention to my body. And when I told my GYN about some odd symptoms, he took me seriously – unlike so many doctors who simply brush it off and say “you’re at that age, you know”. My doctor listened to me, sent me for an ultrasound and a CA125. My CA125 number was low (8) so any other Dr. would not be concerned. But my internal ultrasound showed the small “mass”. I had surgery and chemo. Yep, I lost my hair, I felt like crap for a few days after each treatment – but I never vomited!! (good meds).
But I did it and am alive and well today.
So my advice – pay attention to your body!! Do you have gas often? Bloating? Waistband too tight in the evening? An odd occassional pain in that ovary area? Tell your doctor you want a CA125 and internal sonogram. If they don’t want to order it – find another doctor!
Do it! It can save your life. It saved mine.

D.K. Says:
October 4th, 2009 at 10:06 pm

I was diagnosed with a rare, very low grade ovarian cancer, called a Leydig tumor. While that type of tumor is considered malignant, it rarely metastasizes (spreads), unlike most ovarian cancers . My GYN symtom was intermittent bleeding. At the same time, I developed persistent nausea and a recent spike in my cholesterol levels for no known reason. I had just gone to a new GYN Dr. who thought I was experiencing intermittant, normal perimenopausal bleeding (I was almost 50). While I obviously had never gone through menopause, I really had a strong gut feeling that my symptoms were not normal. The bleeding was much heavier than I normally experienced during a period. My GI dr. thought my nausea was caused by gastric reflux, and my internist had no explanation for my high cholesterol levels. After several months of no improvement, I asked my GYN to order some hormone tests and my testosterone level was elevated. “Probably nothing to worry about”, she said. When my symptoms persisted I asked her to order a transvaginal ultrasound exam. She balked at this, saying there wasn’t sufficient reason to order the test. I begged her for the test, and it was positive for a sizable mass. At that point, she recommended laporoscopic surgery, and I said “no, I want a laporotomy” instead since the mass could be cancerous. Considering, my experience with that Dr., I decided to see a gynecologic oncologist who said I DID indeed need a laporotomy so my organs could be removed as one piece so abdominal fluid and tissue samples could be obtained. Otherwise, I might require a second surgery. By that time, my testosterone level was extremely high. As it turned out, I had a successful hysterectomy and oophorectomy (aka “total hysterectomy”) and no other evidence of cancer outside the ovary. So I didn’t need any chemo. My nausea symptoms were immediately gone after my testosterone-producing tumor was removed, and my cholesterol levels dropped dramatically. It has been 10 years since that surgery and I have no evidence of any further disease. The morale of the story is to be aware of ANY changes in your bodily functions or appearance and be persistent until your doctors pursue investigation until you have a credible explanation. My GYN oncologist told me that I probably saved my own life by being persistent in trying to get answers to my problems. Oh, another thing, don’t hesitate to change doctors if you are not satisfied no matter how much you like the person. Your life may be on the line if you put relationships before quality care.

artie Says:
October 8th, 2009 at 9:25 pm

Hi D.K.-Your story sounds so typical – having to tell your doctors what you wanted done rather than them telling you what should be done. Sad. But yes, by paying attention to your own body – appearance, shape, aches or pains, lumps, rashes functions, etc.- telling your Dr about these things, and finding a doctor who will listen to you, you can save your own life. That’s why I am alive today.
As for my own symptoms – I had already gone through menopause with no problems at all. No hot flashes and very mild menopausal symptoms. Easy! Then a noticed that most every evening my waistband was tight. I thought it was just my fat. I had an occasional faint pain in my lower left front ab area. Sometimes it even woke me up at night – still very faint, but odd. Then I notice I was having more gas than usual. First I thought it was something I ate. But it seemed to be increasing. My thought was “gee, this is a lousy aspect of getting older!” My sister and I laughed about it.
Then I noticed that when I slept on my stomach, I felt like there was a lump in my bed – but it was always in the place where my funny little ab pain seemed to be. I visited my GYN about another issue and mentioned it to him. He ordered an ultrasound and that’s what started the ball rolling. If I had not told him about my funny little pain, about feeling like I was laying on a slight lump, and if he had not taken me seriously then my cancer might have not been detected until it was far too late for me.

I, too, had a “total” hysterectomy – uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, some lymph nodes and even my appendix. I did have 6 treatments of chemo but no radiation.
Hurray for good doctors. Hurry for me for paying attention to the “odd” things I noticed with my body – and speaking up.
It seems whenever I tell some about my ovarian cancer, the first question they ask is ” how did you know?”. It’s a great chance for me to spread the word about being your own best “symptom detector”. I hope it helps others.

Cina Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 1:23 am

The CA125 is NOT a safe indicator for Ovarian Cancer. I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, and never once did my labs ever go over 13. The doctor at the time, was not concerned. A year later I had a huge tumor in my pelvis, and a CA125 that was lower than 13. I wish that these women would get it out of their heads that a CA125 is not a safe test. Yes, some women may have had an elevated CA125, but if you have a doctor that relies exclusively on the CA125 test, than you are screwed- Just an opinion.

Leave a Reply