4 Must-Know Ovarian Cancer Facts
This disease kills more than half the women who get it. Here is what you need to know to beat the odds
Eight years ago, amateur rock climber Sean Patrick had indigestion so severe it was waking her up at 3 am. Her doctors advice, Find a new hobby. A year later, she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.
Although the disease kills more than half the women who get it, she has survived seven surgeries. "My doctors have no idea why I am still here, but that is okay with me," says Patrick, now 53, who founded the HERA (Health, Empowerment, Research, and Advocacy) Womens Cancer Foundation to raise awareness about ovarian cancer.
Here's what you need to know.
Ovarian cancer is not silent.
Symptoms include nausea, bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, more frequent urination, abnormal vaginal bleeding, unusual fatigue, and unexplained weight changes. "Doctors often dismiss it as irritable bowel or acid reflux," she says. That's a fatal error: Survival odds are four times higher with early diagnosis.
Got symptoms? Get tested.
Ask for a pelvic/rectal exam, a transvaginal ultrasound, and a CA125 test. (Your Pap test doesn't screen for ovarian cancer.)
Birth control pills high in progestin may cut risk up to 60 percent.
Doctors suggest that women at high risk due to family history consider taking the Pill.
Breast cancer raises your risk.
Researchers suspect that these cancers share common pathways in the body.
by Caroline Bollinger, Prevention's fitness editor
Eight years ago, amateur rock climber Sean Patrick had indigestion so severe it was waking her up at 3 am. Her doctors advice, Find a new hobby. A year later, she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.
Although the disease kills more than half the women who get it, she has survived seven surgeries. "My doctors have no idea why I am still here, but that is okay with me," says Patrick, now 53, who founded the HERA (Health, Empowerment, Research, and Advocacy) Womens Cancer Foundation to raise awareness about ovarian cancer.
Here's what you need to know.
Ovarian cancer is not silent.
Symptoms include nausea, bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, more frequent urination, abnormal vaginal bleeding, unusual fatigue, and unexplained weight changes. "Doctors often dismiss it as irritable bowel or acid reflux," she says. That's a fatal error: Survival odds are four times higher with early diagnosis.
Got symptoms? Get tested.
Ask for a pelvic/rectal exam, a transvaginal ultrasound, and a CA125 test. (Your Pap test doesn't screen for ovarian cancer.)
Birth control pills high in progestin may cut risk up to 60 percent.
Doctors suggest that women at high risk due to family history consider taking the Pill.
Breast cancer raises your risk.
Researchers suspect that these cancers share common pathways in the body.
by Caroline Bollinger, Prevention's fitness editor
