Ovarian Cancer: No Good Test?
Reported December 15, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Every year, more than 20-thousand women find out they have ovarian cancer. For almost two-thirds of them, it’s a deadly diagnosis. But unlike other cancers, doctors say yearly screening for ovarian cancer may do more harm than good. The test that was supposed to save one woman’s life ended up lying to her instead.
Amy Brannock is a musician, an artist and a two-time ovarian cancer survivor.
“I actually went to the emergency room thinking I had appendicitis, and that was when they did a CT scan and found a tumor,” Brannock told Ivanhoe.
She had a hysterectomy and chemo. Finally, the standard blood test for ovarian cancer — C-A-125 — determined she beat it.
“So, I thought, ‘OK, we’ve got it treated. I’m good to go!” Exclaimed Brannock.
For three years, Amy went on with her life thinking she was cancer-free. But all along, the test was lying.
“Amy’s CA-125 has been normal just like any normal person, Daniel Clarke-Pearson, M.D., Gynecologic Oncologist at UNC Health Care, told Ivanhoe.
It wasn’t until she felt a lump in her neck that her doctors realized the cancer was back with a vengeance.Typically doctors preach about yearly cancer screening, but according to his study in the New England Journal of Medicine, Doctor Clarke Pearson says the average woman should not be tested for ovarian cancer.
“I say don’t get tested because it leads to a lot of unnecessary surgery, and on one hand, the testing could lead to a false sense of security,” Clarke-Pearson said.
The standard blood test misses up to 50-percent of early ovarian cancers. Abnormal ultrasound readings are also incorrect up to 90-percent of the time.
“That’s what’s so insidious about this particular cancer. It’s so sneaky,” Brannock said.
Amy’s cancer is incurable, but with regular treatment, she’s striving for many more years of music and memories.
Symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague, but they include pelvic or stomach pain, bloating, feeling full soon after eating and urgent urinary frequency. Doctors say there is a small section of the population who should be screened. This includes women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer and those with mutations in the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes.
For More Information, Contact:
Juli Kidd
UNC Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Chapel Hill, NC
(919) 843-4927
jkidd@med.unc.edu