The Not So Silent Killer

Yesterday I finished reading a book that was written by women who survived ovarian cancer. Every woman's story is different, but they all had symptoms at an early stage. Doctors call it the "silent disease" because they think it has no overt symptoms. One of the main points that the book makes is that this is a misconception, and if doctors investigated more thoroughly, most women would be diagnosed in the early stages of the disease. It is the #4 killer of women simply because of the late stage diagnoses. A vaginal ultrasound, a CT scan, a rectal exam, or a CA125 could make the difference between life and death. It affects women of all ages, often with no cancer in their families. One particularly harrowing account was from a woman who was diagnosed while her baby was being delivered by c-section. What was inspiring for me is that many of the women were diagnosed at stage IIIC or IV, the final two stages, and they survived. I was diagnosed at IIIC, but I had symptoms for a few years before I was diagnosed. I have to question the quality of American medical schools when doctors are so ignorant about this disease and in most schools they receive no instruction in nutrition at all. There is a program where ovarian cancer survivors speak to medical school students to familiarize them with the symptoms of the disease. I wish there was one near us so I could get involved. Women, parents and doctors need to be educated about this so more women can survive. There needs to be a more reliable screening test than the CA125 so that every woman can be screened annually. I have so many friends whose mothers died of ovarian or fallopian tube cancer. The treatment has improved, so more women survive today, but I can tell you the treatment is hell. The surgery is hell, the chemo is hell, the radiation is hell...it's all hell. I intend to be one of the women who survive.

Namaste,
Jill