Ovarian Cancer Awareness – A Personal Story
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is in September which is sort of ironic for me because my mother died 5 years ago from this deadly disease on September 28. We never knew she had this disease until a week before she died, even though she’d been suffering terribly from gastro-intestinal problems for over a year.
After her death, we found out that Ovarian Cancer is very hard to detect and usually disguises itself with these abdominal symptoms: abdominal pain, bloating, difficulty eating, frequent urination and feeling full quickly. If we had only known more about this disease, we could have fought it. Maybe we could have had more time with my mom.
Ovarian Cancer is the fifth leading cancer killer of women. And, for a lot of women, it doesn’t present until it’s too late for effective treatment. There are no screening tests available right now for this disease.
You can pay attention to some of the risk factors. Family history of ovarian or breast cancer is one of them. If that’s the case, let your doctor know and make sure you get a pelvic exam once a year. If the doctor feels something suspicious, they can order an ultrasound or blood test that looks for a specific tumor marker.
For prevention, you can watch your weight. A study in the February 15, 2010 issue of the Cancer journal reports that obese menopausal women that have never used hormone replacement therapy are at increased risk (26% more than normal weight women) for Ovarian cancer. Strangely enough, my mom was not obese and she was on HRT for 18 years after her hysterectomy.
I hope my personal story can help other women become more aware of this horrible disease. Get an annual exam and this month, do what you can to support Ovarian Cancer Research so we can get better screening tests and save more women’s lives.
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2 Responses to “Ovarian Cancer Awareness – A Personal Story”
Joan on September 9, 2010
So sorry for your loss, Eunice. A dear friend of mine for the past 40 years was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about 13 years ago and only because of very early detection, she managed to survive it. How did they detect it? They knew she had endometrial cancer and when they opened her up to operate on that condition, they found the ovarian cancer.
In other words, it was only by accident that they discovered this very serious cancer before she even had symptoms.
Your post shows how important it is to take symptoms seriously, know the risk factors and force your doctor to take you seriously if you feel something is wrong.
ECoughlin on September 9, 2010
Wow, talk about a miracle! I hope she survived her cancers and treatment. So true about insisting on answers from your doctors. May we all enjoy good health in the years ahead