Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. I know a few women who were diagnosed with breast cancer or cervical cancer and went through treatment. Unfortunately, they all weren't able to survive that battle. However, I'm not familiar with or know of anyone who was/has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Regardless of that fact, I still want to bring awareness to this disease because it has such a grave impact on fertility.

Facebook's attempt at bringing awareness to ovarian cancer is an epic fail in my book.  Their idea of bringing awareness is to have people change their status to say, 'I am X weeks and craving Y'. Needless to say, this has caused quite the controversy, especially among infertiles like myself. It's hard to comprehend how making a statement with the false implication of being pregnant is a positive reflection on a disease that could potentially eliminate your chances of ever conceiving a child. Big contradiction!

Now let's be serious about this disease that is estimated to claim the lives of about 15,460 women. A woman's risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 71. Almost 46% of women have a 5-year survival rate. Of course, many people live longer than 5 years (and many are cured).

Some of the risk factors include using the fertility drug Clomid for longer than one year; having a family history of the disease where your mother, sister, or daughter has (or has had) this cancer; having a personal history of breast cancer.

About 20% of ovarian cancers are found at an early stage. When found early at a localized stage, about 94% of patients live longer than 5 years after diagnosis. Four possible symptoms of early ovarian cancer include:

• Bloating (due to a mass or accumulation of fluid)
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency)

These symptoms can of course be caused by other less serious conditions, but when these symptoms are caused by ovarian cancer they occur more often and are more severe.

Ways to find ovarian cancer early include pelvic exams, seeing a doctor if you have any of the symptoms noted above, and screening tests (transvaginal sonography and CA-125).

Surgery to stage and remove the cancer may include removing the uterus, both ovaries, and both fallopian tubes, thus eliminating your chances of conceiving a child (insert side eye to Facebook here).  It also means that you will go into menopause if you haven't already done so. Chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy are the use of drugs to treat the cancer. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells.

I just wanted to highlight a few points about ovarian cancer, but more information can be found at American Cancer Society, and I implore you to check out this information.

Let's Be Aware!!!!