I just got this in an email. It seems worth posting to me, and maybe others would like to share it with their friends. I had never heard of this type of cancer.
[I am forwarding this because it was news to me. I hope it won't be to you.]
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 too late.
She wrote a book to heighten awareness. Gene Wilder is her widower.
Kathy's story:
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 Taxols
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 healthcare. I thought I had done that because I always had an
annual physical and PAP smear, did monthly Self-Breast Exam, went to the
dentist at least twice/year, etc. I even insisted on a smgmoidoscopy 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 bacterial 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 FIVEPOUNDS of
fluid drained off at the hospital (not a pleasant procedure, I 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, P-L-E-A-S-E 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; don't 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 one done in three or six months and keep a close eye on it,
just like 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 - catch it
early. Do you know 55 women? If so, at least one of them will have this
VERY AGGRESSIVE cancer - and maybe, just maybe, it will be YOU. I hope not.
Please, go to your doctor THIS WEEK 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. As
the Nike ads day, "JUST DO IT". Please don't think youth will protect you
either. 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.
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 Ron'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. So
I am having this blood test this Friday.
For those of you that still have these parts, go have the test taken. 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. |
