| THIS IS A MUST
TO READ TO THE END P L E A S E!
(Guys: pass it on to your lady).
An Eye Opener on Ovarian Cancer
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, I 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 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.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SEND THIS OUT TO ALL THOSE YOU CAN.
BE IT MALE OR FEMALE, IT SHOULD NOT MATTER, AS THEY CAN FORWARD
IT ALSO TO THOSE LOVED ONES THEY KNOW.
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