Do you know anyone who has suffered from ovarian cancer? Those of you who do might be slightly more self-conscious about this disease. But those of you who don’t know anyone affected, you probably have no idea what to suspect.
According to Time.com, an ovarian-cancer screening in Houston ended up detecting one of the most unlikely of women had early signs of this notoriously difficult cancer. Tragically, ovarian cancer causes 14,000 fatalities in women, per year in the United States. Rate of survival is very low because most women are not diagnosed in time to treat this aggressive cancer.
Blood tests can be taken to detect these tumors that begin to form in the ovaries. Physicians are trying to create a more useful, widely-used test where CA125 is more predictable. This test could potentially become similar to women getting regular mammograms each year.
Dr. Karen Lu, professor of gynecologic oncology at MD Anderson, who led the study, is hoping to hear more stories like Stegall’s. “There is clearly an unmet need,” she says of the 70% of ovarian cancer cases that are not diagnosed until advanced stages. “I call it the Holy Grail if we could find an effective screening method for ovarian cancer so we can decrease mortality from the disease.”
Ladies, if you ever see a screening for ovarian-cancer at your local hospital… GO! Even if you are healthy, this disease creeps up on just about anyone, even extremely healthy women. Better to be safe than sorry. Find a gynecologist near your home who can give you the CA-125 blood test to see if you might have ovarian cancer.
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