After examining a pathology report of the cyst removed
from Mary Jackson Scroggins' ovary, the gynecologic oncologist told the
mother of two he had good news and bad news.
The bad news was she had the most aggressive form of
ovarian cancer, already the deadliest of the gynecologist cancers. The
good news was the cancer was detected at Stage IA, the earliest and most
curable stage that has a more than 90 percent five-year survival rate.
The American Cancer Society estimates 23,400 women will
be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year, and 13,900 women will die of
the disease. African-American women have lower ovarian cancer rates than
Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander women, but they are more
commonly diagnosed with widespread and more advanced-stage disease.
African-American women are also less likely than their Caucasian
counterparts to survive five or more years with the ovarian cancer,
regardless of stage at diagnosis. Among the minority women groups in
general, the disease is a more prevalent in Asian women in comparison to
African - American or Hispanic women.
Because there is no screening tool for ovarian cancer
and many women and physicians are still unaware of the symptoms of the
disease, only 25 percent of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the
early - and more treatable - stage. Instead, more than two-thirds of women
are diagnosed when the cancer has advanced beyond the ovaries and the
chance of five-year survival is only about 25 percent. It is especially
difficult for the minority women to be diagnosed at an early stage of the
disease because they are less likely to have comprehensive health
insurance and receive routine medical care, including yearly pelvic exams.
The key to helping decrease these startling statistics
is educating the public and physicians about ovarian cancer, its symptoms
and risk factors, which is the goal of the Ovarian Cancer National
Alliance's Public Education Project. Until there's a test,
awareness is best.
Raising awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms is
paramount to the pilot project. The failure of women and physicians to
recognize these symptoms often delays diagnosis. Common symptoms are:
-
Abdominal pressure, bloating or
discomfort
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Nausea, indigestion or gas
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Urinary frequency, constipation or
diarrhea
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Abnormal bleeding
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Unexplained weight gain or loss
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Shortness of breath
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Unusual fatigue
These symptoms are not unique to ovarian cancer, but it
is critical for women to take action if the symptoms are unusual for them
and persist. If ovarian cancer is suspected, experts recommend an annual
vaginal/rectal pelvic exam, a transvaginal sonogram and a CA-125 blood
test. Also, research has shown that outcomes are better if a gynecologic
oncologist, a physician who has been trained specifically to deal with
gynecologic cancers, has performed the surgery.
All women are at risk for ovarian cancer and should be
aware of factors that put them at higher risk. These factors include:
increasing age; having a family history of ovarian, breast or colon
cancer; and not bearing children. However, a woman can reduce her risk
through pregnancy and breast-feeding, tubal ligation, a hysterectomy,
removal of the ovaries and using oral contraceptives.
