Thirty-three years ago, I
walked into my surgeon’s office and said, “WOW, I actually made it 5
years”. I was referring to my breast
cancer surgery which he had performed, very successfully I might add! He was an excellent surgeon and a truly nice
person. He didn’t look very happy about
my pronouncement! He told me that new
statistics now showed that the true marker of success was currently considered
10 years. Talk about deflating your
bubble! Well, I made it to 10 and
ultimately to 38 years – so I guess he did his job well – and I guess I beat
the odds:)
Last week I walked into
another surgeon’s office – my current Guardian Angel – and said the same
words. Knowing that Ovarian Cancer is
not famous for its long-term survival rate, I was just thrilled to be standing
there. After some discussion, I learned
that it’s not always considered the automatic death sentence I had considered
it. In some situations and medical
practices, it’s actually being treated as a chronic disease. WOW, that was a shock – a very pleasant one
for a change. I decided to do some
research and came up with some interesting facts I would like to share. Bob Dylan said it first: “The times, they are
a’changin”
Before I run the risk of
getting too serious, I must tell you that this 5-year milestone had another
effect on me. I once again began to look
over my shoulder at the calendar pages flying by. Good Lord, I’d made it 5 years – that big
chariot has to be coming soon to pick me up.
I began to think of all the things I should be doing, but all I really
wanted to do was stay in my ever-shrinking comfort zone. Tim McGraw’s hit song “Live Like You Were
Dying” asks what you would do if you thought this might really be the end. His answer is “I went sky diving, I went
Rocky Mountain climbing...” I’m
terrified of heights, so those were out.
But I thought that living a quiet, normal(?) life was somehow giving up
and giving in to the cancer. Fortunately
for me, I have extremely supportive and very smart people around me. My daughter is a psychologist who
always
manages to think outside the box, my son constantly amazes me with his insight
and thoughtful questions, my doctor and nurses deal with people like me every
day and are more than willing to jump in and help – which they did, and my
husband is a saint with 40 years of living with my ups and downs. They have, once again, grounded me and made
me realize that what I am doing is what’s best for me right now. So I’m back to celebrating the 5 year
anniversary and ignoring the calendar pages – I watch the waves roll in and I
thank God for all the amazing and wonderful gifts in my life!
Speaking of gifts – let’s get back to this
new (at least to me) chronic disease classification. Often called the "disease that whispers" Ovarian cancer
causes more deaths among women than any other type of reproductive cancer. The symptoms are often vague and women and
their doctors often blame them on more common conditions. By the time the cancer is diagnosed, the
tumor has often spread beyond the ovaries often leading to death. By then, the disease is most likely in the
later stages and the majority of women survive but a year or so. But, as I’ve recently learned, many
Oncologists are now treating Ovarian cancer as a chronic disease and, as a
result, are extending the lives of many women fighting this cruel monster.
Dr. Method and Dr. Rodriguez, two Gynecologic
Oncologists in Northern Indiana, explain that by treating the cancer as chronic
rather than acute, they are extending the lives of their patients. They claim
to have 50 percent of their patients surviving 5 years or longer and they
believe it's because of appropriate surgery and aggressive chemotherapy. They
treat their patients as if this disease is something they can live with, and
live successfully with, for many years.
The following is from an Abstract by
the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia:
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy in
the United States. Evidence-based interventions for the prevention and early
detection of ovarian cancer do not currently exist. However, several treatment
guidelines, including the receipt of treatment from a gynecologic oncologist,
have been shown to result in improved survival from ovarian cancer.
Wow! “...the
receipt of treatment from a gynecologic oncologist...” I’ve always known I was blessed by finding my
special Guardian Angel, Dr. M – I just never knew how very blessed. My gynecologist of 20 years immediately sent
me to him when my trans-vaginal ultrasound showed increasing fluid and my
CA-125 was 475 – up from 2.1 the previous year!
Turning
ovarian cancer from a disease that whispers into one doctors can diagnose and
treat before it's too late seems to be looming on the horizon. Ironically, the “magic new screening test for
ovarian cancer” seems to be the same CA-125 that I have been getting annually
for many, many years. Whenever we moved
and I was forced to change doctors, I always had to fight for the annual blood
test. I was told it lacked sensitivity
and specificity, it caused too many false positives, it was too expensive and
too inconclusive. I always fought and fortunately
I always won. Ironically, that test is
now the “new test to screen for ovarian cancer” which appears to detect the
disease in early stages, and if confirmed in clinical trials, the test could
become a routine screening for women.
In the
study, researchers tested the strategy on more than 4,000 women over an 11-year
period. The women underwent yearly blood tests, and the researchers recorded
the levels of a protein called CA-125, which is produced by the majority of ovarian tumors. Women who had sudden increases in CA-125 levels were referred to
a gynecologist and were given an ultrasound. The new strategy is different because
it tracks changes in each woman's levels of CA-125, instead of only looking for
a CA-125 level that might be considered high based on the average of the entire
population. It's more personalized, and it also incorporates age.
Thank God they have found a new way to utilize
this test. It has always been an
accurate and responsive marker for my cancer.
When it climbs consistently, the cancer is active again – when it drops
steadily, the cancer is regressing.
In order for this method to become a
screening test, it has to pass the gold standard. It has to show that in a large group of women
who did the screening, there were fewer
deaths from ovarian cancer compared to another
group who didn't get screened. The
researchers are waiting for the results of a larger, randomized study currently
being conducted in the United Kingdom that uses the same screening strategy.
The results are scheduled to be released by 2015.
Over 14,000 women
die of Ovarian Cancer every year.
September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. TEAL is the color – wear it proudly! There are many organizations who work
tirelessly to ensure that
necessary treatments are covered by Medicare, that drugs and tests on the
market are safe and effective, and that federal policy makers are aware of the
importance of the ovarian cancer community.
Please do what you can to fight for women with ovarian cancer, and
policies that help support them and their families. May God bless you with good health! 