Your body is a temple

Today would have been my mother's 65th birthday. As most of you who read this blog know, my mother, Dorothy Claire Preston Silver passed away after a very long battle with Ovarian Cancer in June of 2004. My mother did everything right when it came to taking care of her body. She never smoked (well, there was that one time in Miami when she smoked a cigar), rarely drank (well, we did hear some stories involving a boat, beer and nights spent on Lake Pontchartrain), ate well most of the time (the whole family suffered through the time when we thought our brother was allergic to wheat and she experimented with many interesting gluten free products back in the 70's when it was not hip to eat gluten free, ick), exercised (she walked around the big parking lot at work every morning before heading into work) always had regular checkups and just generally took great care of herself. Her diagnosis of stage IV Ovarian Cancer in 1983 came as a shock to all of us. But, in 1983 we did not know what we know today and there are so many things we can all do to make sure we don't have to suffer as she did.

So, in memory of my mom. Here are the facts:

1. Ovarian cancer kills more women than all other gynecologic malignancies combined.
2. Ovarian cancer very often is not accompanied by symptoms until the disease is advanced.
   
3. Because early stage ovarian cancer is very often curable and advanced stage ovarian cancer carries a poor prognosis for survival, beating ovarian cancer is dependent upon early detection.
   
4. Women with an elevated risk profile for ovarian cancer (usually due to family history) are most likely to be monitored or screened for ovarian cancer. However the vast majority of ovarian cancers do not arise from women at high risk because this group is small.
   
5. Most ovarian cancers occur in women who are over the age of 50 and do not have any symptoms.
   
6. Ovarian cancer screening of women over age 50 is not being recommended as a part of the standard of care.
7. The costs to treat one woman with advanced stage ovarian cancer (surgery, chemotherapy, palliative care) is $200,000 or more, with outcomes unlikely to be successful.

Here is what you can do:

• If you are over 50 years old or are over 30 and have a family history of Ovarian Cancer you can receive a FREE yearly trans vaginal ultrasound at the University of Kentucky. For more information visit here.

• Make and keep yearly checkups with an OB/GYN.

• Listen to your body. Ovarian Cancer used to be called the "silent killer" but now experts in the field say there are symptoms but you must pay attention to them. They are:
• bloating
• pelvic or abdominal pain
• trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• urinary symptoms, such as urgent or frequent feelings of needing to go
• you can visit the American Cancer Society for more info on symptoms
  

For more information on Ovarian Cancer you can visit these sites:

National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
National Cancer Institute
Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry

My mother always said "Your body is a temple" So, in memory of my mom, be good to your temple, listen to it and take care of it.