Signs of Ovarian Cancer

> SIGNS OF OVARIAN CANCER (even in the
> absence of Ovaries, and no matter what age you are)
>
> THIS IS A MUST
> TO READ TO THE END
>
> An Eye Opener on Ovarian
> Cancer
>
> I hope you all take the time to read this and pass it on to
> all you can. Send this to the women in your life that
> you care about.
>
> A few years ago, Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer.
> Her symptoms were inconclusive, and she was treated
> for everything under the sun until it was too late..
> This blood test finally identified her illness
> but alas, too late. She wrote a book to heighten
> awareness. Gene Wilder is her widower.
>
> KATHY'S
> STORY: this is the story
> of Kathy West
>
> As all of you know,
> I have Primary Peritoneal Cancer. This cancer has only
> recently been identified as its OWN type of cancer, but it
> is essentially Ovarian Cancer.
>
> Both types of cancer are diagnosed in the same way, with
> the "tumour marker" CA-125 BLOOD TEST, and they
> are treated in the same way - surgery to remove the primary
> tumour and then chemotherapy with Taxol and Carboplatin.
>
> Having gone through this ordeal, I want to save others from
> the same fate. That is why I am sending this message
> to you and hope you will print it and give it or send it via
> E-mail to everybody you know.
>
> One thing I have learned is that each of us must take TOTAL
> responsibility for our own health care. I thought I
> had done that because I always had an annual physical and
> PAP smear,
> did a monthly Self-Breast Exam, went to the dentist at
> least twice a year, etc. I even insisted on a
> sigmoidoscopy and a bone density test last year. When
> I had a total hysterectomy in 1993, I thought that I did not
> have to worry about getting any of the female reproductive
> organ cancers.
>
> LITTLE DID I KNOW. I don't have ovaries (and they
> were HEALTHY when they were removed), but I have what is
> essentially ovarian cancer. Strange, isn't
> it?
>
> These are just SOME of the things our Doctors never tell
> us: ONE out of every 55 women will get OVARIAN or PRIMARY
> PERITONEAL CANCER.
>
> The "CLASSIC" symptoms are an ABDOMEN that rather
> SUDDENLY ENLARGES and CONSTIPATION and/or DIARRHEA.
>
> I had these classic symptoms and went to the doctor.
> Because these symptoms seemed to be
> "abdominal", I went to a gastroenterologist.
> He ran tests that were designed to
> determine whether there was a bacteria infection; these
> tests were negative, and I was diagnosed with
> "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". I guess I would
> have accepted this diagnosis had it not been for my enlarged
> abdomen. I swear to you, it looked like I was
> 4-5 months pregnant! I therefore insisted on more
> tests.
>
> They took an X-ray of my abdomen; it was negative. I
> was again assured that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and
> was encouraged to go on my scheduled month-long trip
> to Europe .. I couldn't wear any of my
> slacks or shorts because I couldn't get them buttoned,
> and I KNEW something was radically wrong. I INSISTED
> on more tests, and they reluctantly) scheduled me for a
> CT-Scan (just to shut me up, I think). This is
> what I mean by "taking charge of our own health
> care.."
>
> The CT-Scan showed a lot of fluid in my abdomen (NOT
> normal). Needless to say, I had to
> cancel my trip and have FIVE POUNDS of fluid drawn off at
> the hospital (not a pleasant experience I assure you), but
> NOTHING compared to what was ahead of me.
>
> Tests revealed cancer cells in the fluid. Finally,
> finally, finally, the doctor ran a CA-125 blood test, and I
> was properly diagnosed.
>
> I HAD THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS FOR OVARIAN CANCER, AND YET THIS
> SIMPLE CA-125 BLOOD TEST HAD NEVER BEEN RUN ON ME, not as
> part of my annual physical exam and not when I was
> symptomatic. This is an inexpensive and simple
> blood test!
>
> PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES
> TO INSIST ON A CA-125 BLOOD TEST EVERY YEAR AS PART OF THEIR
> ANNUAL PHYSICAL
> EXAMS.
>
>
>
> Be forewarned that their doctors might try to talk them out
> of it, saying, "IT ISN'T NECESSARY."
> Believe me, had I known then what I know now, we would
> have caught my cancer much earlier (before it was a stage 3
> cancer). Insist on the CA-125 BLOOD TEST; DO NOT
> take "NO" for an answer!
>
> The normal range for a CA-125 BLOOD TEST is between zero
> and 35. MINE WAS 754. (That's right, 754!).
> If the number is slightly above 35, you can have
> another done in three or six months and keep a close eye on
> it, just as women do when they have fibroid tumours or when
> men have a slightly elevated PSA test (Prostatic Specific
> Antigens) that helps diagnose prostate cancer.
>
> Having the CA-125 test done annually can alert you early,
> and that's the goal in diagnosing any type of
> cancer - catching it early..
>
> Do you know 55 women? If so, at least one of them
> will have this VERY AGGRESSIVE cancer. Please, go to
> your doctor and insist on a CA-125 test and have one EVERY
> YEAR for the rest of your life..
>
> And forward this message to every woman you know, and tell
> all of your female family members and friends.. Though
> the median age for this cancer is 56, (and, guess what,
> I'm exactly 56), women as young as 22 have it.
> Age is no factor.
>
> A NOTE FROM AN
> RN:
> Well, after reading this, I made some calls. I found
> that the CA-125 test is an ovarian screening test equivalent
> to a man's PSA test prostate screen (which my
> husband's doctor automatically gives him in his physical
> each year and insurance pays for it). I called
> the general practitioner's office about having the test
> done. The nurse had
> never heard of it. She told me that she doubted that
> insurance would pay for it. So I called Prudential
> Insurance Co, and got the same response. Never heard of it -
> it won't be covered.
>
> I explained that
> it was the same as the PSA test they had paid for my husband
> for years. After conferring with whomever they confer
> with, she told me that the CA-125 would be covered.
>
> It is $75 in a
> GP's office and $125 at the GYN's. This is a
> screening test that should be required just like a PAP smear
> (a PAP smear cannot detect problems with your ovaries).
> And you must insist that your insurance company pay
> for it.
>
> Gene
> Wilder and Pierce Brosnan (his wife had it, too) are
> lobbying for women's health issues, saying that this
> test should be
> required in our physicals, just like the PAP and the
> mammogram. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SEND THIS OUT
> TO ALL THOSE YOU CAN. BE IT MALE OR FEMALE, IT SHOULD
> NOT MATTER, AS THEY CAN FORWARD IT ALSO TO THOSE LOVED ONES
> THEY KNOW.
>
> IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH FORWARDING SOMETHING AS
> IMPORTANT AS THIS, HERE'S A LITTLE HINT THAT MAY ASSIST
> YOU WITH YOUR DECISION ~ JUST PRETEND THAT THIS IS A JOKE,
> WHICH IT CERTAINLY IS NOT, AND SEND IT OUT TO ALL THE FOLKS
> YOU WOULD IF IT WAS. THANKS.