Ovarian and breast cancer are linked together with the BRACA genes. In the world of cancer statistics if you have been tested and have this genetic mutation your chance for one or the other of these cancers or both is likely. Even if you don’t have this known genetic mutation, the links between ovarian and breast cancer are still a concern. For this reason I call Ovarian Cancer the ugly, deadly killing stepsister of Breast Cancer. Think of Breast Cancer as Cinderella and Ovarian Cancer as her stepsister with bipolar and off her medications and carrying a loaded hand gun and you get the idea.
Last week I went to a funeral of a friend of mine who died from Ovarian Cancer at age 53, five years after her first diagnosis. She was a great person, and it is very sad that she is gone. Her name was Sherie. She was a 6th grade teacher for 30 years, and also ran a summer program for pre-teen girls and did tutoring. Her husband added up that she had taught or mentored over 6,000 students.
After her diagnosis, Sherie realized that there were very few empowering events for ovarian cancer survivors. No large walks, charity fund raising events or recognizable logos. Sherie set to change this by starting her own foundation, http://www.shocfoundation.org/, to raise the awareness of ovarian cancer. She even started an ovarian awareness walk. The importance of all of this is that ovarian cancer kills so often that there are not that many survivors. There is no definitive diagnostic test for ovarian cancer and many patients by the time they are diagnosed are in the later stages of the disease. Sherie wanted to help to change that reality. Her foundation to date has raised close to a million dollars of which much is donated for ovarian cancer research.
This August at her foundation’s walk, Sherie was there, looking thin but thrilled to have so many survivors and friends participate. The start for the walk is at a huge parking lot of a big Harley Davidson dealership in the small suburb that she taught in for all these years. A woman’s roller derby team starts the race. Cub Scouts and Camp Fire Girls flag the street crossings. The eclectic crowd and surroundings is proof that cancer can touch everyone. I will miss Sherie, but her husband, daughter and son, and her foundation’s board are continuing her fantastic work.
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I hope this listing of symptoms is helpful: Mayo Clinic Ovarian Cancer Symptoms
As stated on the linked site, ovarian cancer is often misdiagnosed because it disguises itself as other less life-threatening dis-eases. We must be proactive in our own healthcare. If you feel something is wrong, chances are you’re right. Don’t just take your doctor’s word as gospel; no one knows your body better than you.
Be well.
You are so RIGHT! Good symptoms guide too.
Hello Haralee. I am very sorry about your friend. Her talents and presence I am sure will be truly missed. So thank you for taking the time to post this very personal note but helpful to many of us.
I had a partial hysterectomy when I was 34. But I still had my ovaries of course. So over the years (I am almost 58) I have worried about ovarian cancer. So I was scoped since the doc couldn’t feel my ovaries. They couldn’t find them. No one could explain why they were out of reach of a scope or just plain missing. I was in the medical field for awile and never heard of this. Have you? So I am afraid that I can still get this cancer. If you have any further information, or if anyone reading this has something to offer, I would certainly appreciate it.
Vickie
vblair: What is “scoped?” Have you had ultrasound testing? Are you certain the ovaries were not removed during the original procedure? Might that surgeon still have your records from the hysterectomy?
I have heard that ovaries are often difficult to locate because they are not fixed in location, and that weight gain could be a reason for difficulty in seeing them.
If I were you I would Google and contact expert gynecologists and centers such as the Mayo Clinic for their opinions. As I wrote upthread, we must be proactive.
Be well.
I had ultra sound and internal camera to see if they could be found with no avail. But thanks for the suggesion about the Mayo Clinic. Never thought about going to their site. Have a great evening.
Hi Vickie,
It is not out of the question to ask for a consult appointment with your primary care after you tell them your concern so they can gather all your info. You will have to recover yourself the partial’s history from over 20 years ago. After all the info is collected a good sit down will help.
Here is another community source to look at: http://www.empowher.com/media/reference/ovarian-cancer#definition
Thanks for the link Haralee. Believe it or not, the surgeon was commited of murdering his wife. I am not sure how or if I can collect info on the surgery. I know that I still have them: I had a vaginal hyst.
Anyway, just one more thing to have to worry about. If you don’t have enough already!
Have a great weekend and I will be checking back in soon.
Oh my! The surgeon murdered his wife? Were there signs that he was capable of murder? Please elaborate and give the full story. This situation reads like an Ann Rule crime story.
I am a survivor, I must have had someone or some force looking after, I had irrerular for years, right after I turned 40, but even younger my peroids were weird! I thought it was menopause, after all many women go through it early. I am not one to go to the doctor, please no scolding! Well after 3 years of no peroids, I started again, it got heavier and heavier, I finally confided in a friend, she said I had better see a doctor, still it was 2 months before I finally went. Well I had tumers in my overies, I had 2 choices, a hysto, or just remove the overies, I choose to get rid of it al, after all I wasn’t planning on more children, I had grand kids! After my hysto, I had to go back and have my stomach lining, lymthnodes, and gess forgo the third thing, removed, and have been fine, no special treatments, just go in for checkups and boood tests, my Doc said if I had waited any longer the overies would have burst open and then I would have been in serious trouble. So ladies, get checked, be pushy, It was just dumb luck for me, why I don’t know. My Doc said I was in the 2-3% who catch it early..so go to the doc, be pushy, demand to be checked throughly! sorry this is so long.
nokomis, your story sounds very similar to my mother, who died of ovarian cancer at age 67. She had irregular periods for years, then meno, then ‘started up’ again at 58! I remember her saying that her gyno expressed astonishment that she was still having periods…but did not even send her for ultrasound. He put her on HRT to relieve whatever symptoms she had, and convinced her she had IBS. This went on for two years, until she got severe jaundice. They then concluded (from the jaundice only; no invasive tests) and diagnosed a pancreatic malignancy, treated (chemo) for three months, and then her abdomen began to swell suddenly. She was taken in for emergency surgery and an 8 lb. ovarian tumour was discovered. She died 6 months later. Autopsy revealed a normal pancreas.
Now, I’m no medical expert, but this is the information I had from her anecdotal descriptions, being with her at the time, and her medical file, which did not come into my possession for 20 years after her death. (She died in 1988). She was a wonderful, kind, intelligent Mom, and was just not pushy enough.
If anyone here has unusual periods/new bouts of bloating/malaise – get it checked out! At least get an ultrasound and don’t take their reassurances without question. I did, by the way, run into her GYN at my Dad’s funeral, and I did ask him (calmly) if he ever felt bad about the neglect my Mom suffered at his hands – he actually admitted -verbally- that he felt he could have done better. That won’t bring her back, but I did suggest quietly to him that he should have had the balls to apologise to her family. Maybe living with guilt all these years was his due.
I also had a friend die too young from ovarian cancer, just over two years ago. Trudi was a teacher and was a very gentle and caring person. Yes, we do need to take care of ourselves. It is interesting to note that scientists are discovering that Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) may prevent many cancers, including ovarian cancer. I did not know how much time my friend Trudi spent in the sun, or if she took supplements… http://antiagingboomer.com/vitamin-d-does-more-than-just-prevent-the-flu/
Vitamin D is really turning into something that we don’t get enough of be it from sunscreen in our make-up or hats and long sleeves or what. As a breast cancer survivor it is recommended that we be tested and most of the other survivors I know have been low. Luckily the vitamin is inexpensive and available and the test is just routine with blood work. I now take a 2,000mg pill and get a bit more with my Calcium and multi and my last blood work said I was in range.