Why Are We Still Calling It Ovarian Cancer?

Be forewarned, I’m about to disclose a pretty private matter: I’m having a hysterectomy.

Why? My mom died of ovarian cancer in 2011 after being misdiagnosed for nearly a year. I’ve done all of the routine screenings and they all came back negative. However, routine screening tests to identify ovarian cancer early have largely been discredited. In fact in 2016 the US Food and Drug Administration released a statement recommending against their use. For that reason, prevention is particularly important.

Prevention means many things. First and foremost because every woman is a candidate for ovarian cancer, every woman needs to pay careful attention to the symptoms. Most common? Bloating, Eating - feeling full after eating or losing your appetite, Abdominal pain, Trouble urinating or more frequent urination. Just remember that acronym B.E.A.T. You can download a free symptom card and tracker here. If you have these symptoms for two weeks straight and a change in diet and exercise does not reduce them go to your doctor immediately. (You can watch my appearance on Good Morning Washington last September to get more information.)

Prevention for me also means getting the hysterectomy because it will greatly reduce my chances of developing ovarian cancer. Ensuring that my fallopian tubes are removed is now more important than ever.

Recently I was contacted by Dr. Mark S. Boguski and Michelle R. Berman, who had written an article for STAT entitled: “Why are we still calling it ovarian cancer?”

They made a shocking discovery as they were researching their new books on women’s and men’s cancers: Seventy-five percent of the most deadly form of so-called ovarian cancer actually arises in the fallopian tubes. These tubes capture unfertilized eggs released by the ovary and transport them to the uterus.

Dr. Boguski immediately reached out to me to make sure that I began educating you about this new discovery and the implications for treatment. PLEASE do yourself a favor and read this article and share it with every woman you know.

I’ve made it my mission is to end the late stage diagnosis of ovarian cancer so no one else has to go through what my family went through. I need your help to spread the word because I can’t do it alone.

Please share this article with every woman you know!