A Public Service Announcement (ooh and a contest!)
I may have mentioned before that my pet cause is ovarian cancer, for several reasons. First and foremost, I lost a dear childhood friend to ovarian cancer when she was 25. I also feel that it needs to be brought to the attention of women. We need to do for ovarian cancer what has been done for breast cancer.
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and while you likely won’t be seeing anyone wearing an aqua ribbon or any yogurt containers with aqua lids, take a moment to learn a little bit about it. (Although I am going out tomorrow to buy some aqua ribbon to wear all month. Today is Jake’s birthday and we have been busy celebrating all weekend.)
Ovarian cancer is often called the Silent Killer because its symptoms are so vague and unalarming. Many times women just chalk them up to dietary issues. Sadly by the time the disease makes itself known, it’s often too late for effective treatment and the cancer has spread to other vital organs. This is why ovarian cancer is so deadly - it’s not that the cancer itself is more aggressive than other kinds of cancer; it’s just that it is so often overlooked because its symptoms are easily explained away.
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, more than any other cancer of the reproductive system. If the cancer is caught before it has spread out of the ovary, the five-year survival rate is 93%. However, only 19% of of ovarian cancers are found at this early stage. Symptoms associated with ovarian cancer include: feeling bloated, vague abdominal and pelvic discomfort, gastrointestinal symptoms (such as gas, nausea, diarrhea, constipation), back pain and fatigue.
Currently there is no good screening test for ovarian cancer. All you can do is get your annual gynecological exams (complete with the fondling of your ovaries to feel for lumps and cysts) and if you have persistant symptoms, ask for a transvaginal ultrasound and the CA 125 blood test.
I’m also going to do an aqua themed contest. To enter the contest, all you have to do is leave me a comment on THIS POST ONLY telling me that you have been getting your yearly gynecological exams, or if you haven’t been, that you vow to make your appointment this month. I’ll be taking you at your word on this and if you lie, well, you’ll only have your conscience to deal with. The contest will stay open until September 15, so you have plenty of time to find your health insurance card and call your doctor, or ask your sister/mother/aunt/coworker/best friend/dog sitter for the name of their doctor. I’ll choose the winner on September 16th, and a lovely aqua themed gift assortment of my choosing will be on its way to the winner. It won’t be tacky, I promise. Feel free to pimp my contest on your own sites. The goal is to increase awareness. If I get enough entries, I might just choose more than one winner. I’m just that nutty.
Filed under Soapbox |21 Responses to “A Public Service Announcement (ooh and a contest!)”
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Considering I get pregnant if my husband thinks about it hard enough, I have spent the last three years at the OBGYN.
However, I am a stickler for my yearly visits and have never missed one since I was 14.
I am due for my annual and I’ve been procrastinating making the appt. because I’m currently living as a single parent while my hubs lives 13 1/2 hours away and I’m trying to sell this house. However, I am going to call today and schedule for when my MIL is visiting in a few weeks. Thanks for the reminder of the importance.
I have never missed an annual either. Not even in college when I was poor and without insurance. I’m not due again until January, but the thought of finding a new GYN here doesn’t thrill me.
I was just thinking this morning that it was time to make an appt. thanks for the reminder…hope all’s well!
ovarian cancer sounds pretty scary considering you can explain away all symptoms. i didn’t even know they checked your ovaries, the yearly exam is not my favorite, but I go anyways and will continue to go.
Great post… I am always urging my friends and colleague s to protect their health through annual exams…
I just had my exams (June) and am pretty religious about it. I am a DES Daughter which puts me at high risk for a few types of reproductive tract cancers (vaginal, cervical, breast….) as well as ovarian cysts, and, of course, the infertility and internal deformities I already have. As someone who has left small pieces of herself (biopsies) at some of the finest gynecological facilities on the West Coast - its far better to have that minor discomfort and early detection than to not ‘deal’ with the risks.
I am lucky enough to have a great gyno who ALWAYS does the manual rectal exam so she can closely check the ovaries… I am all about the yearly pap, pelvic and mammogram…
As a high risk type of gal, I figure all I can do is get myself checked out regularly and routinely. I figure I owe it to myself, and my kids….
I also always get my yearly exams…in my 20s that was the only way to get a new prescrption for bc. Now, I realize the importance.
i had my annual just last week. yay for normal lab results!
chrys
I go every 6 months since I’m considered “high risk” for cervical cancer. I don’t mind going - it’s important.
d for done…every spring…it’s like my little way to say, “hello spring” with my visit to my gynecologist…actually, it started with my scheduling it during spring break because i hate to miss work…and each year it seems to get a bit later…i’m into april these days…i’m sure it’ll hit may soon
great idea for a contest, thanks for holding the giveaway. my cause is breast cancer, i do the susan g. komen race for the cure each year. this year it’s sept. 21 in portland, oregon.
Thank you so much helping spread awareness of this “silent” cancer.
I am faithful about going to the doctor yearly, even since I got my tubes tied two years ago.
I will post a link to this on mu blog to help get the word out!
My Grandmother died of ovarian cancer…thanks for spreading the word! I ALWAYS get my check-ups and encourage others to do so!
I just got my appointment reminder card
I get my annual, well…..annually! Seriously though - I’m glad you brought this to our attention. I teach high school anatomy and we’re in the tissues unit where I have them do a research project on cancer. I think I’ll give extra credit for Ovarian cancer since it’s Ovarian cancer month!
My annual is in two weeks. I am very punctual with it. In fact, I will be bringing up to my doctor the fact that I’m turning 36 in a few months, so shouldn’t I be scheduling that base-line mammogram now???? See, I keep up on that cancer-detecting stuff.
I have been putting my yearly off bc of insurance changes/move. I will be scheduling it at the end of this month. I have been regular since I was 20.
Thanks for the reminder! I had a baby almost two months ago and my doc’s office was closed at the 6 week mark so I was waiting for September to go in. Ill be making that appointment today.
I am also going to hijack this post and do the same thing on my blog…sometimes people just need a little reminder.
october 16th i’m seeing a new gyno. haven’t had one thing done since i got a bad surgery from my last gyno (bladder sling so high and tight it was severing my urethra. so.fun) - 3 years ago. bad me. but going. and planning to request the c125 blood test. i’ll let you know. thanks for this…
I go every year and this post has reminded me that I need to make an appointment for this fall.
I’ll be calling the Dr’s office next week! (And am seriously considering the blood test.)
Show me the money..I mean prize! Just like Tuli, I go every year and your nagging..I mean wonderful post has reminded me that it’s time. That and the fact that I can’t get any more birth control pills until I have my exam. Thanks for the pubic/public service announcement.
Oh yes - every year. I make my appointment a year in advance as I’m leaving so I don’t have to think about it again til they call to remind me the follow year. This past year I’ve been A LOT though due to Miss Dahlia & the aftermath…
I get to go again (!) in November. But I agree SUPER important. A girlfriend of mine’s mother was just diagnosed with Ovarian cancer and it is SCARY stuff - she’s probably had it for 5 years and had no clue. 
Weird, I thought I HAD commented on this.
Anyway, I had a cousin who had a horrible horrible battle with this disease. She had it for years before it finally claimed her life in 05. She was younger than my mom, but they grew up together. She was beautiful. She looked like a barbie doll, really. She was one of the sweetest people and ended up struggling through life. For awhile they thought she was going to beat it. I never realized how undetectable it was though. I agree, there should be more awareness.