my mother had ovarian cancer, her mother died of breast cancer, one of my father's sisters had colon cancer. I had bleeding every two weeks for about a year myself, and now I have abdominal swelling and kidney pain, difficulty urinating(been blaming the lupus--but none of the tests are showing anything wrong!) I look like I am pregnant the swelling is so bad.
| I am having this test done next Thursday. wish me luck. Ravyn > I hope you all take the time to read this and pass >it on to all you can. Send this to the women in your >life that you care about. > > > > Years ago, Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer. Her >symptoms were inconclusive, and she was treated for >everything under the sun until it was too late. This >blood test finally identified her illness but alas, >too late. > > > > She wrote a book to heighten awareness. Gene Wilder >is her widower. > > > > KATHY'S STORY: this is the story of Kathy West > > > > As all of you know, I have Primary Peritoneal >Cancer. This cancer Has only recently been >identified as its OWN type of cancer, but it is >essentially Ovarian Cancer. > > > > Both types of cancer are diagnosed in the same way, >with the "tumor marker" CA-125 BLOOD TEST, and they >are treated in the same way - surgery to remove the >primary tumor and then chemotherapy with Taxol and >Carboplatin. > > > > Having gone through this ordeal, I want to save >others from the same fate. That is why I am sending >this message to you and hope you will print it and >give it or send it via E-mail to everybody you know. >One thing I have learned is that each of us must take >TOTAL responsibility for our own health care. I >thought I had done that because I always had an annual >physical and PAP smear, did a monthly Self-Breast >Exam, went to the dentist at least twice a year, etc. >I even insisted on a sigmoidoscopy and a bone density >test last year. > > > > When I had a total hysterectomy in 1993, thought >that I did not have to worry about getting any of the >female reproductive organ cancers. LITTLE DID I KNOW. >I don't have ovaries (and they were HEALTHY when they >were removed), but I have what is essentially ovarian >cancer. > > > > Strange, isn't it? These are just SOME of the things >our Doctors never tell us: ONE out of every 55 women >will get OVARIAN or PRIMARY PERITONEAL CANCER. The >"CLASSIC" symptoms are an ABDOMEN that rather SUDDENLY >ENLARGES and CONSTIPATION and/or DIARRHEA. > > > > I had these classic symptoms and went to the doctor. >Because these symptoms seemed to be "abdominal", I >went to a gastroenterologist. He ran tests that were >designed to determine whether there was a bacteria >infection; these tests were negative, and I was >diagnosed with "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". I guess I >would have accepted this diagnosis had it not been for >my enlarged abdomen. I swear to you, it looked like I >was 4-5 months pregnant! I therefore insisted on more >tests. They took an X-ray of my abdomen; it was >negative. I was again assured that I had Irritable >Bowel Syndrome and was encouraged to go on my >scheduled month-long trip to Europe. > > > > I couldn't wear any of my slacks or shorts because I >couldn't get them buttoned, and I KNEW something was >radically wrong. > > > > I INSISTED on more tests, and they reluctantly >scheduled me for a CT-Scan (just to shut me up, I >think). This is what I mean by "taking charge of our >own health care." The CT-Scan showed a lot of fluid >in my abdomen (NOT normal). Needless to say, I had to >cancel my trip and have FIVE POUNDS of fluid drained >off at the hospital (not a pleasant procedure, I >assure you), but NOTHING compared to what was ahead of >me). > > > > Tests revealed cancer cells in the fluid. Finally, >finally, finally, the doctor ran a CA-125 blood >test, and I was properly diagnosed. I HAD THE CLASSIC >SYMPTOMS FOR OVARIAN CANCER, AND YET THIS SIMPLE >CA-125 BLOOD TEST HAD NEVER BEEN RUN ON ME, not as >part of my annual physical exam and not when I was >symptomatic. This Is an inexpensive and simple blood >test! > > > > PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS AND >RELATIVES TO INSIST ON A CA-125 BLOOD TEST EVERY YEAR >AS PART OF THEIR ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMS. Be forewarned >that their doctors might try to talk them out of it, >saying, IT ISN'T NECESSARY." Believe me, had I known >then what I know now, we would have caught my cancer >much earlier (before it was a stage 3 cancer). > > > > Insist on the CA-125 BLOOD TEST; DO NOT take "NO" >for an answer! The normal range for a CA-125 BLOOD >TEST is between zero and 35. MINE WAS 754. (That's >right, 754!). If the number is slightly above 35, you >can have another done in three or six months and keep >a close eye on it, just as women do when they have >fibroid tumors or when men have a slightly elevated >PSA test (Prostatic Specific Antigens) that helps >diagnose prostate cancer. > > > > Having the CA-125 test done annually can alert you >early, and that's the goal in diagnosing any type of >cancer - catching it early. > > > > Do you know 55 women? If so, at least one of them >will have this VERY AGGRESSIVE cancer. Please, go to >your doctor and insist on a CA-125 test and have one >EVERY YEAR for the rest of your life. And forward >this message to every woman you know, and tell all of >your female family members and friends. Though the >median age for this cancer is 56, (and, guess >what,I'm exactly 56), women as young as 22 have it. >Age is no factor. > > > > A NOTE FROM THE RN: Well, after reading this, I made >some calls. I found that the CA-125 test is an ovarian >screening test equivalent to a man's PSA test >prostate screen (which my husband's doctor >automatically gives him in his physical each year and >insurance pays for it). I called the general >practitioner's office about having the test done. The >nurse had never heard of it. She told me that she >doubted that insurance would pay for it. > > > > So I called Prudential Insurance Co., and got the >same response. Never heard of it - it won't be >covered. I explained that it was the same as the PSA >test they had paid for my husband for years. After >conferring with whomever they confer with, she told me >that the CA-125 would be covered. It is $75 in a GP's >office and $125 at the GYN's. This is a screening test >that should be required just like a PAP smear (a PAP >smear cannot detect problems with your ovaries). And >you must insist that your insurance company pay for >it. > > > > Gene Wilder and Pierce Brosnan (his wife had it, >too) are lobbying for women's health issues, saying >that this test should be required in our physicals, >just like the PAP and the mammogram. > |