by Jennie Camp Hudgins

It seems that the month of August mirrored a well-crafted script from what is often referred to as a “critically acclaimed” movie. In reality it revealed the plight of three women I know who are battling cancer. Two have experienced metastases of breast cancer and the other is fighting the ongoing fight of ovarian cancer. I’m struck by the symbolism. As in this case of only 3 women, on the whole more women suffer from breast cancer than ovarian cancer; however, in all cases, these women are fighting the good fight to survive some form of cancer that all women are at risk for, and we should all take notice that the battle isn’t won on either fronts. Breast cancer continues to be an aggressive cancer, in many cases giving aggressive treatment regimens an opposite and equal return volley, in spite of the technological advancements in screening and constant education on self-exam. On the other hand, ovarian cancer continues to be the most difficult to diagnose and survive, because we don’t have a sophisticated screening tool to catch it in its early stages.

These days everyone’s talking about the new “symptoms list” for ovarian cancer. While I’m thrilled with having these symptoms out there and in the minds of both the women who might be experiencing them and the healthcare crowd who might be listening to them rattled off in succession, the reality is that, until we can screen for ovarian cancer and detect it when it is confined to the ovary, knowing and recognizing these symptoms is going to do very little to decrease the mortality rate due to organ metastasis. If we consider the facts, we can get perspective on this concept of symptoms leading us to get an early diagnosis – a Stage One diagnosis – for ovarian cancer. The ovary is the size of an almond. It is buried under layers of muscle, fat, and skin. Most of us lay-women couldn’t palpate our own ovaries if we were in an anorexic state. A tumor growing in or on the ovary wouldn’t make it any easier I’m afraid. The pressure inside your body from something so small wouldn’t provoke any alarming symptoms either, I gather. I say this because I know women who have carried 8 and 9 pound babies at delivery, without so much as a complaint of frequent urination! I hope you’ll pardon my skepticism, but my frame of reference is my own sister’s physical symptoms at the time of her ovarian cancer diagnosis. Yes, she had many, if not all, of the symptoms on the list. But, she was at Stage Three at the time of her diagnosis. Her ovary was unrecognizable and completely consumed by cancerous growth that ensnared a portion of her colon and rooted itself in the omentum (the surrounding tissue of the peritoneum that covers the intestines). Her CA125 reading was in the 600’s. The time for early diagnosis had long passed by the time she was experiencing noticeable gastrointestinal symptoms that caused her to seek medical expertise.

While everyone in the ovarian cancer awareness community is thankful for this step in officially adopting the symptoms of ovarian cancer, I am sure we all recognize the limitations of this method of diagnosis. For those of you who like analogies, it’s like offering a bandage to someone who is suffering from an arterial injury. A bandage isn’t going to change the ultimate outcome. Blue Hydrangea Tea Party supports these organizations and trusts their motives in embracing the symptoms list and educating women about its pronouncement. We will continue to work to help support these organizations. But, we consider the need for a screening tool to be paramount in early diagnosis, where true survival is possible. Our concern is that the symptoms list will bring about complacency in the minds of women, as though the battle has been won. It has not and is far from even being waged, much less won! The goal is winning the battle against ovarian cancer so that more women live cancer free for the rest of their natural lives. The first step toward winning this battle should be waging a successful fight for early diagnosis. Until there is some evidence to support that the symptoms list is saving lives in a measurable way, we cannot claim to be making progress. Let’s remember how long the breast cancer awareness community has been at this, and they have nationwide support and education in place, along with technological advances in screening to give breast cancer patients a fighting chance. Many women truly survive breast cancer without another recurrence. Their survival is not always overshadowed by treatment that ends with death.

Our fight has just begun. We need to focus on what will give an ovarian cancer patient their fighting chance – a Stage One diagnosis. This will come in the form of a screening tool. Blue Hydrangea Tea Party will continue to hold this position and encourage funding for research into this option, as well as our other goal of helping to fund the agencies who educate women about ovarian cancer symptoms and offer emotional support to ovarian cancer patients. They, too, would like a screening tool. The masses can bring one voice to the need for research and the introduction of a tool that can detect ovarian cancer in its beginnings. Please join Blue Hydrangea Tea Party and make this voice louder as the awareness tea parties stir up ovarian cancer chatter across the country!

Blue Hydrangea Tea Party 2008
Event Date: May 10, 2008

STIR UP THE CHATTER!
Register a party now and plan to bring other women into the ovarian cancer circle of awareness~

This year join the conversation about ovarian cancer. We welcome your personal experiences or any relevant information concerning ovarian cancer by emailing your comments to us.