The most important facts to remember during National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
Even though the rate of ovarian cancer diagnosis has been steadily declining for the past 20 years, we shouldn’t let our guards down. Awareness is a key factor that will contribute to our health. Ovarian cancer is known as the “silent killer” due to lack of symptoms. The symptoms are so common that they are often misdiagnosed as other conditions. “Ovarian Cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States because the majority of women are diagnosed at a late stage after cancer has metastasized. Five-year overall survival is dismal at 45%; however, if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, survival rates greatly improve to over 92%”, comments Peg Ford, ovarian cancer survivor and President/Co-Founder of the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of San Diego. Early detection saves lives; however, early screening tests for ovarian cancer are not yet fully developed. You can ask your gynecologist to order imaging tests, particularly if there are