Facing the challenges of ovarian cancer
By Dawn Stapleton
Ovarian cancer advocate Patty Franchi Flaherty
It was early 2001, and Wendy Clayton was feeling bloated. When the sensation wouldn't go away, the 37-year-old made the first of what would be many appointments with her primary-care physician, who thought she had common stomach problems. Clayton was diagnosed with lactose intolerance, but the pressure and discomfort continued even after she eliminated dairy products. Then, about nine months after her initial appointment, Clayton's gynecologist found a tumor the size of a small watermelon; she had ovarian cancer.
The news would soon get worse. "While I was recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, I felt a lump," Clayton says. "It turned out to be breast cancer."
Unfortunately, few people are aware that breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers are sister diseases. Women with one have a slightly higher chance of developing the others. In addition, women frequently ignore the subtle warning signs of ovarian cancer (see related story: Warning signs: 'Be your own advocate') because they resemble those of many minor illnesses; doctors may discount them for the same reasons.
An estimated 21,650 new cases of cancer of the ovary are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society – and many women are surprised when they learn they have the disease.
Due to the vague symptoms and lack of a reliable test for early detection, three-quarters of ovarian cancers aren't discovered until they've reached advanced stages 3 and 4. Furthermore, standard diagnostic tools such as transvaginal ultrasound, CT scans, and laparoscopy (minimally invasive surgery) can also miss early, small cancers. This disease causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system and is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women in this country.
While physicians and researchers at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center and elsewhere are determined to improve the outlook for patients, progress against ovarian cancer has been frustratingly slow. Not only is it difficult to diagnose, research in this area has been traditionally underfunded, leading to a shortage of investigators. Still, a growing awareness of the disease and an infusion of new funding are raising prospects for better treatments and diagnostic tests.
- Next: New research, new hope
- Ovarian cancer: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
