Beating the Odds
Thanks to new treatments, many women are living longer with ovarian cancer Aurora native Deanna Caudill, 46, was shocked to receive a diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer in January 2018. “It threw me for a loop,” she says. Caudill got two rounds of chemotherapy near her home in Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, where she worked […]
What you need to know about 4 gynecological cancers
A diagnosis of cancer in a woman’s reproductive organs can lead to fears about losing her femininity and her ability to bear children. But according to gynecologic oncologist Robert DeBernardo, M.D., gynecological cancers aren’t common, and most can be easily treated. “Gynecological cancers are rare in the grand scheme when compared to lung or colon […]
Don’t ignore the subtle signs of ovarian cancer
It’s called “the whispering cancer,” and it often goes undetected until too late. “Ovarian cancer is a silent killer. It has few early warning signs and those can be non-specific, like bloating, indigestion, nausea or weight loss. A woman with these symptoms probably won’t think, ‘this could be ovarian cancer,’” said Jayanthi Lea, M.D., a […]
Defending Yourself Against Ovarian Cancer, The Silent Killer
When Angelina Jolie Pitt had a double mastectomy in 2013 to prevent breast cancer, Chicagoan Carolyn Kirschner, MD, watched with concern. “I was like, ‘Angelina, when are you going to have your ovaries out?’ Because actually that’s a more scary problem.” Kirschner, a gynecologic oncologist with NorthShore University HealthSystem, knows too well the risks of […]
What you need to know about health screening tests
By Michael Rabovsky, M.D. Recently, during her annual “well woman” exam, Mary, a healthy 50-year-old schoolteacher, asked me about screening her for ovarian cancer. Tragically, one of Mary’s friends recently died from ovarian cancer. Mary has no risk factors for ovarian cancer and no family history of ovarian cancer or other cancers. I explained to […]
Radiation therapy no longer routinely used for ovarian cancer
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My mother was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer a few weeks ago. She had surgery and is about to begin chemotherapy, and I’ve read that sometimes chemo is more effective if it is given directly in the abdomen. Is this commonly done, and should I ask her doctor about it? Also, […]
Some diet changes seem to reduce risk of ovarian, other cancers
By Karen Collins, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.N., F.A.N.D., Environmental Nutrition Newsletter More than 21,000 U.S. women may expect a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2015, making it the fifth most common cause of cancer death among women. Ovarian cancer often has no symptoms at early stages, so the disease is generally advanced when diagnosed, with only […]
Common Diabetes Drug Linked to Better Ovarian Cancer Outcomes
Researchers at Mayo Clinic recently released the results of a new study linking the diabetes drug metformin to better outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer. This study, published online in the journal Cancer, found that diabetic ovarian cancer patients who took this drug had a better survival rate than those who did not take it. […]
