Ovarian Cancer

[Emms]

My closest friend went into hospital in July to have a cyst removed from her ovary. Following the operation, a biopsy was done and it was discovered that she had ovarian cancer. She was taken back in for a hysterectomy and is now on her third round of chemotherapy.

Her consultant says that she is very lucky because ovarian cancer is 'a silent killer' and that by the time symptoms usually appear it is basically too late to do much about it. Seemingly ovarian cancer will not be spotted from smear tests etc. Her cancer was caught early because she had the operation to remove a cyst and her only symptom had been periodic pain in her side - but this was attributed to the cyst and not to the cancer. Her chances of recovery are quite good, so the cyst basically saved her life.

It is really quite scary to think that there could be a cancer - which can not be detected until it is very advanced - growing inside me and every other woman.

Is there anyone who has suffered from, or knows someone else who has suffered from, ovarian cancer. If so, are there any symptoms that we should be looking out for before the cancer becomes too advanced. I find it so hard to believe that there are not any at all.

[Wish]

Hi Emms

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, I hope the treatment is a success, doesn't bear thinking about what she is going through:(

In answer to your question, it is known as the silent killer. I have had a few ovarian cysts, which have shown up on scans, which the Dr's just leave saying they shouldn't cause any problems, which is worrying as how do they know they aren't sinister? Apparently, there is a blood test that can infact pick up on the presence of cancer cells, I would have thought that offering this blood test to women annually or everytime they had a smear could be a lifesaver, but like everything else, its all down to money sadly.

If you are worried about yourself, then have a chat with your GP over your concerns.

Best wishes to your friend, you stay strong for her, she needs you now more than ever before xxxx

This site may help you

http://www.aicr.org.uk/ovariancancer.stm?source=Adwords

http://www.ovariancancer.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=521&parentID=473&nodeID=1

[lassieinfife]

If there is a blood test available surely that would work out cheaper in the long run than all the expense and needless heartache caused with treating ovarian cancer..... cant see why the national lottery couldn't fund this would be better cause than some of the rubbish it funds

[cuddlepop]

Sorry to here about your friend.I'm afraid I've not got anymore information on symptoms,think Wish has given you the best link.

[henry20]

I got the following in an email the other day about Ovarian cancer:

Ovarian Cancer Whispers - so listen... Watch for Pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort; vague but persistent gastrointestinal upsets such as gas, nausea, and indigestion; frequency and/or urgency of urination in the absence of an infection; unexplained weight gain or weight loss; pelvic and/or abdominal swelling, bloating and/or feeling of fullness; ongoing unusual fatigue; or unexplained changes in bowel habits.
If symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, ask your doctor for a combination pelvic/rectal exam, CA-125 blood test, and transvaginal ultrasound. A Pap Test WILL NOT detect ovarian cancer.

[Bobbyian]

I got the following in an email the other day about Ovarian cancer:

Ovarian Cancer Whispers - so listen... Watch for Pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort; vague but persistent gastrointestinal upsets such as gas, nausea, and indigestion; frequency and/or urgency of urination in the absence of an infection; unexplained weight gain or weight loss; pelvic and/or abdominal swelling, bloating and/or feeling of fullness; ongoing unusual fatigue; or unexplained changes in bowel habits.
If symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, ask your doctor for a combination pelvic/rectal exam, CA-125 blood test, and transvaginal ultrasound. A Pap Test WILL NOT detect ovarian cancer.



my wife died of this some Ten years ago and all these symptons fit it was only< (to late) indentified by a visit to specialist after wanting to go to the toilet to often without a reason . hopoe your friend gets it sorted out the medicines have advanced since then be strong for her and I wish you both well

[DarkAngel]

Bobbyian sorry for your loss, Its such a shame. One friend of my mums had ovarian Cancer and had to get a hystrectomy at the age of 28. Luckily she has got a lovely darling Daughter before this awful thing happend to her. Wish more things could be done for Doctors to Diagnose this quicker before its too late.

[wild1]

I just wish they would find a cure soon for all types of cancers I give money to cancer research everymonth as it's a worthy cause.

[DarkAngel]

wild1 your right it is totally a worthy cause , I always give to Cancer research as both my grandparents dies becoz of Cancer :~( and a cure needs to be found.

[oldmarine]

my wife died of this some Ten years ago and all these symptons fit it was only< (to late) indentified by a visit to specialist after wanting to go to the toilet to often without a reason . hopoe your friend gets it sorted out the medicines have advanced since then be strong for her and I wish you both well


I lost my wife to ovarian cancer July 28, 1968. It's called a silent killer because we did not know she had it until it was too late. There are better techniques for finding and saving women with surgery and medicines than there were in 1968. My prayers go out to anyone who is affected by this disease.

[jim shoe]

Hi this is jim shoes sister plimsoll

we have agreat aunt aged 82

who had ovarian cancer and had an operation three months ago

the prognosis if caught in time is very good, she was given chemo and radiation therapy

i hope and pray your friend has good news and a negative result for the cancer

also i am so sorry for the loss of your wife

cancer appears so prevalent in caithness, i know many people with this dreadful illness my mum included.

we can but pray that one day and very soon a cure will eradicate this dreadful disease

[David from Stockport]

As someone who has been having tests for bowel/bladder cancer lately and i work with quite a few women with breast cancer (1 has just had a new boob made) id like to say that one of my best friends is a really briliant doctor and she works in finding cures for cancer and she reckons that before long cancer will be a thing of the past so my message is-HANG IN THERE AND EVEN IF YOU ARE TOLD BAD NEWS IT SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY - BUT TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY AND WHO KNOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A lot of the time they find cures for things by mistake when looking for other things

[j4bberw0ck]

Emms, I hope you won't mind me using your thread to highlight a pc-based anti-cancer research initiative.

Efforts to find a cure or preventative for cancers of all sorts are getting a huge boost from distributed computing initiatives - basically, a small downloaded program uses your computer's idle time to model, mathematically, protein interactions, folding, and so on. I normally have 4 computers working 24/7 on downloaded "jobs", returning results to an outfit called BOINC (http://boinc.berkeley.edu/index.php). I'm moving house just now so I'm down to 2.

Groups of people (like here on the Org, for instance) can form teams; "points" are awarded for the number of "jobs completed". BOINC is a piece of sftware which supports many different distributed computing initiatives - from searching for intelligent life in the Universe, to modelling the weather and climate change.

The one I support for its cancer work is http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/ . You can see the stats for the project >>>here<<< (http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/stat/viewGlobal.do)- 65,500 years of processor time so far, which dwarfs the work that a single research computer could have done in the same time.

OK, my electricity bill is a little larger than it might otherwise be, but the difference is a few pounds a quarter only - I believe it's worth it. Don't download BOINC to a pc at your work without getting consent from your system admin first - you might be looking at a P45 if you do - but I urge you to look at it for a home pc.

Check it out - if anyone is interested in taking it on and would like more information, please pm me.

[Colin Manson]

Orgers having been supporting the WCG for a long time now, Original thread is

http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=2020

Cheers
Colin

[j4bberw0ck]

Woops! Sorry, and thank you.

[danc1ngwitch]

this kind of thread brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes..
i read it but its like the whole subject on child abuse and killings sometimes i would rather not read... i am sorry for all those who have lost and is suffering .. xxx

[aileenmac]

Are you aware that there is now a vaccine against cervical cancer? If you are under 26 (Ithink that is the age) you can just ask your GP for it. My sister is a medical sales rep and knows all about it. I could find out more if anyone is interested.

[George Brims]

More accurately, there are two vaccines from two different pharmaceutical companies, that both inoculate against several strains of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). HPV has been found to be responsible for the majority of cases of cervical cancer. The vaccine won't eliminate all cases of cervical cancer, but it will reduce the numbers vastly, assuming it is given to enough people. I say "people" because it has been suggested that boys as well as girls should be vaccinated to cut down on the spread of the disease.

Also a recent study found that women who tested positive for HPV type 16 were 5.9 times more likely to get cervical cancer than women who don't have the virus, but HPV-positive women who smoked were *14* times more likely to contract it. That pretty much goes with what a doctor told me years ago - whatever kind of cancer you choose, smoking about doubles your chances of getting it. There's an article about it here:
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2006/11/21/smoke/index.html

Cervical cancer is of course much more easy to detect early than ovarian cancer.