NurseWeek

President designates Ovarian Cancer Week

By Keith W. Murrow
Health24News
September 19, 2000


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Washington (H24N). Calling it one of the deadliest cancers affecting women today, President Bill Clinton declared the week of Sept. 17 National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Week in order to raise awareness about the disease.

Clinton cited encouraging statistics that with early detection the disease is very treatable. But he also pointed to the fact that most women do not get screened for the cancer, and late detection and treatment result in low success rates.

"Currently 75 percent of new cases [of ovarian cancer] are not diagnosed until the disease is in its late stages of development, when treatment in less effective," Clinton said in his proclamation. "With early detection, women have a survival rate of over 90 percent; diagnosis in its later stages, however, dramatically reduces the chances of survival to just 25 percent."

There is currently no reliable and quick way to screen for ovarian cancer, according to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, whose founder, Gail Hayward, recently died of the disease.

In designating this week Ovarian Cancer Awareness, the president said it "offers us an invaluable opportunity to educate Americans about the symptoms and risk factors of the disease" and to alert health care providers about the risks and symptoms involved with its diagnosis.

Ovarian cancer is diagnosed when cancerous cells are found in the one or both of the two small ovaries that produce the female hormones and store the eggs necessary for reproduction.

In terms of prevalence, the disease is fifth among new cancer cases, accounting for 4 percent of all cancers in women.

A variety of symptoms may indicate the disease:

Pelvic and/or abdominal pain.
Unexplained changes in bowel habits.
Unexplained changes in weight, either losses or gains.
Pain during intercourse.

With no effective ovarian cancer test available, women, especially those who are at high risk, are encouraged to receive an annual vaginal exam. Women considered to be at high risk are those who exhibit warning signs, those who have a family history of breast, ovarian and uterine cancers, and those of Jewish and Eastern European descent.