September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

& Get Simple Steps to Take Charge of Your Ovarian & Breast Health Assess Your Risk Take 5 Minutes to Assess Your Cancer Risk    September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Now is the time to learn your personal cancer risk and get simple steps to take charge of your ovarian and breast health. As many as 20% of women in the US are at an elevated risk of ovarian and breast cancer, but most don't know it. When you know your risk, you can manage your health proactively. You owe it to yourself to secure your brighter future and we're here to help!   Assess Your Risk Ovarian Cancer Signs & Symptoms: Know Your Normal Bloating.   Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly.  Pelvic or abdominal pain.   Needing to urinate urgently or often.   Fatigue.   Upset stomach or heartburn.   Back pain.   Pain during intercourse.   Constipation.   Menstrual changes Many of the symptoms may be confused with common menstrual or digestive issues, which make it difficult to detect ovarian cancer at an early stage. If you notice any of these signs and symptoms persisting after 2 weeks, see your doctor and ask: "Could it be my ovaries?"   Empower Your Sis! Share the Cancer Risk Assessment with the women in your life. Empower them to move from ovarian and breast cancer awareness to action and manage their health proactively.       Bright Pink is a national non-profit on a mission to help save lives from breast and ovarian cancer by empowering women to know their risk and manage their health proactively. Since 2007, Bright Pink has inspired over a million women to be their own best health advocates through personalized prevention. Put Awareness In Action™ at BrightPink.org   Copyright © 2019 Bright Pink, All rights reserved. This is an opt in email from BrightPink.org Our mailing address is: Bright Pink 670 N Clark Street, Suite 2 Chicago, IL 60654 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Are You at Risk for Ovarian Cancer?

New post on Living Well

Are You at Risk for Ovarian Cancer? by touroinfirmary Joan Cheng, M.D. Did you know that ovarian cancer is the deadliest type of gynecologic cancer? It's typically diagnosed at the advanced stage. You can help protect yourself by knowing if you are at risk for this cancer and the symptoms.

Know the Risk Factors

The exact causes of ovarian cancer are unknown. But the following factors can play a role:

• Increasing Age: Being middle-aged or older increases the odds of developing ovar­ian cancer. Risk is highest after menopause. The average age at diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the S. is 63 years old.
• Family history: A woman may be at risk if she has a first-degree relative—that is, a daughter, sister, or mother—who has had ovarian cancer. Her risk is particularly high if two or more first-degree relatives have had this cancer. A history of the disease in other close family members—such as aunts or grandmothers, on either your mother’s or father’s side—is also linked to a higher-than-average risk.

A family history of breast or colon cancer also has been associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Moreover, women who have a strong family history of breast cancer sometimes opt to get checked for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which are linked to a high risk of breast cancer. Being a carrier of either one of these genes is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. However, it is important to note, however, majority of women who develop ovarian cancer has no family history of ovarian cancer and no genetic mutation.

• Personal history: Women who have had colon or breast cancer may face a higher risk for ovarian cancer than those who have not had either of these other cancers.
• Infertility and Endometriosis: Women who have never given birth have a higher risk than women who have. In fact, the more children women have had, the less apt they are to get ovarian cancer.
• Talcum Powder: In some studies, use of talcum powder in feminine hygiene products or contraceptives has been linked to ovarian cancer. However, the overall increase in risk is minimal. This issue is still being explored.

Factors that are associated with a decreased risk include: previous pregnancy, history of breast feeding, oral contraceptives and tubal ligation.

Warning Signs

If detected early, ovarian cancer is treatable. But symptoms often are vague and may not show up until later stages of the cancer. Easy-to-overlook warning signs may include:

• Stomach discomfort, such as indigestion, nausea, swelling, or cramps
• Diarrhea, constipation, or frequent urination
• Decreased appetite
• Feeling full after even a light meal
• Unexplained weight gain or loss
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Pain during intercourse
• Fatigue
• Backache

Its' important to pay attention and talk to your doctor if these “vague” symptoms become persistent and/or increased in frequency, intensity and duration. A patient with ovarian cancer has the best chance of being cured when she is treated early.

Click here to learn more about Ovarian Cancer.

Dr. Joan Cheng was born in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. at a young age, where she grew up in South Carolina. She attended Duke University to earn her B.S. in Biology. She then moved to New Orleans to pursue her M.D. at Tulane University School of Medicine. She left New Orleans for several years to complete her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at State University of New York at Stony Brook and then moved across the country to pursue her Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Dr. Cheng, who served as a faculty member at Tulane Medical School before joining Touro’s Crescent City Physicians group in 2007, treats gynecologic cancers such as endometrial, cervical, ovarian and vulva cancers, as well as other complex gynecologic issues that require specialized surgical skills, including robotic surgery.

touroinfirmary | September 25, 2018 at 7:58 pm | Categories: Gynecologic Oncology | URL: https://wp.me/p3U9Kg-xI Comment    See all omments

Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Living Well. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://livingwellblog.co/2018/09/25/are-you-at-risk-for-ovarian-cancer/

Invasive ovarian cancer risk: understanding the role of the menstrual cycle

Ovarian cancer is the tenth most common form of cancer among women in the United States, but it accounts for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. If detected early, the 5-year survival rate is greater than 90%; however, a majority of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage. Thus, better understanding of ovarian cancer risk factors may have a significant public health impact. Researchers in the Public Health Sciences Division recently published a paper in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention of a study that carefully assessed the relationship between ovarian cancer risk and certain characteristics of the menstrual cycle.

Read More:

Share the R.E.A.C.H. Symptoms - Ovarian Cancer Foundation

Ovarian Cancer Research Study

LET’S TALK. GLOBAL TEAL TALK DAY FOR OVARIAN CANCER

BY:

 Runsi Sen

 

 September 18, 2017

September 23 is Global Teal Talk Day, founded by Ovarcome. Over 249,000 women are diagnosed annually with ovarian cancer, worldwide. Gather your friends, wear teal for a day out together and talk.

Join a group of co-workers for lunch. Men are welcome, also. They have mothers, wives, daughters and sisters at risk for ovarian cancer. They should have the Teal Talk, too! There is no standard screening for ovarian cancer. In absence of a test, awareness is best. In the hour it might take to have the Teal Talk during lunch, approximately 28 women would have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Invite your closest friends, neighbors and sisters for drinks in the back yard. Wear your favorite teal and give the Teal Talk. Let them know early detection improves survival rates by 90%. Make sure they know the symptoms.

Go for a walk with your mom and her friends. Even if it’s a short one it will be long enough for a Teal Talk. Ask them about family history and encourage them to share it with their daughters and granddaughters. Encourage them to see their gynecologist to review family history for inherited risk factors. Families with a strong history of ovarian or breast cancer have a 15-40% lifetime risk when compared to the general population according to the National Cancer Institute.

RUNSI SEN

Founder, President & CEO
Runsi Sen, founder of Ovarcome, serves as the President and CEO of the organization. Runsi lost her mother to ovarian cancer in 2009, and in her memory and with her inspiration founded Ovarcome. Under Runsi’s leadership, Ovarcome has experienced significant growth both nationally and internationally. 
Runsi graduated from Rice University in 2004 with an MBA in Strategy & Marketing. Runsi also holds a master’s degree in Economics. She serves as an Advisory Board member of the Blanton-Davis ovarian cancer research program at MD Anderson. Runsi received her early education and career experience internationally, in India. She lives with her husband and two children in Houston.
runsi@ovarcome.org

Cancer Is Not Who I Am

Why one woman will not let the disease define who she is.

BY NORA MACKIN LALLY

PUBLISHED: JULY 21, 2017

You would think that I’d know the exact date of the last time I received a chemotherapy treatment, but honestly, I don’t remember.

I’m sure the day was marked on my 2010 calendar, but that calendar, like so many other reminders of that year, is long gone. The things I did keep — the hats my sister sent me, the wigs my parents helped me pick out — are shoved into the dustiest corner of my closet where I am sure to not accidentally run into them in my early morning scramble to get dressed.

It’s not that I forget that in 2009 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which was removed (along with anything else that wasn’t nailed down inside me) in early 2010, with 18 weekly chemotherapy treatments following. It’s more like I just don’t think about it. Cancer is a place I visited once, and just never care to go to again. Like the panhandle of Texas. But I still have my journal from that time, with entries like this:

Read More