The Truth About Ovarian Cancer Screening - book excerpt

The New York Times editorial "False Promises on Ovarian Cancer" says it all. What is most concerning is that a third of doctors recommend what medical science shows not to be true: screening for ovarian cancer does NOT work.

Enjoy the excerpt from my book - The Thrifty Patient - Vital Insider Tips to Staying Healthy and Saving Money - and be smarter than 1/3 of doctors! Simple to read and incredibly informative.

Enjoy!

Ovarian Cancer Screening

One of the most feared cancers for many women is ovarian cancer, which occurs in one out of sixty-eight women. Unfortunately, like many cancers (lung, pancreatic), there is no screening test that has been helpful to detect the illness early and reliably proven to save lives.

Until organizations like the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommend certain tests or examinations, everything you may hear on the news or from friends about breakthroughs in screenings is inaccurate.

In the latest update by the American Cancer Society, women are urged to seek medical care if they have had the following symptoms, which could be early signs of ovarian cancer:

• Abdominal swelling or bloating (due to a mass or accumulation of fluid)
• Pelvic pressure or abdominal pain
• Difficulty eating, or a feeling of being full quickly
• Urinary symptoms (having to go urgently or often)

Certainly many benign causes also can cause similar symptoms. If you have these symptoms, they are not typical for you, and you aren’t sure what the cause might be, check with your doctor. The ACS acknowledges that two tests often used to “screen” for ovarian cancer are the blood test CA-125, a tumor marker, and/or a transvaginal ultrasound, an ultrasound probe placed in the vagina to evaluate the ovaries. The update correctly notes that in women at high risk for ovarian cancer and those with no risk, neither test has been shown to save lives.

Unfortunately, until medical researchers find a better and more precise test, women will need to be observant about their bodies. This is the best medical science has in trying to detect ovarian cancer early.

No effective screening test for ovarian cancer, yet

A recent study found that annual transvaginal ultrasounds with annual blood tests for a tumor maker CA125 did not pick up ovarian cancer at an earlier stage. A retrospective study, it looked at 341 women with a family history of ovarian cancer. Of the four that had ovarian cancer, only one was detected at surgery and the other three developed ovarian cancer between the screening tests.

The authors concluded that for women who are at average risk for ovarian cancer (i.e. no family history), that "ovarian cancer screening should not be offered unless it is within a clinical trial aimed at developing new methods for ovarian screening."

It is frustrating for both doctors and patients that there is no current effective screening test for this deadly disease. This is probably why in June 2007, the American Cancer Society as well as the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists issued a press release about symptoms women should watch out for that could be early signs of ovarian cancer.

Specifically:

• bloating
• pelvic or abdominal pain
• trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• urinary symptoms, such as urgent or frequent feelings of needing to go

Although the above conditions are more likely to be due to other less serious conditions, patients are encouraged to see their doctors, preferably gynecologists, if the symptoms are present daily and last more than a few weeks. The fact that this is the best these expert groups can recommend means that there is still a lot more research that needs to be done.