About Ovarian Cancer

Symptoms of ovarian cancer

• pelvic or abdominal pain
• abdominal bloating
• urinary urgency (needing to get to a bathroom immediately)
• urinary frequency (having to urinate often)
• feeling full
• having difficulty eating

The vast majority of the time, these will not be due to cancer.  Ovarian cancer symptoms are often subtle and easily confused with symptoms for other disorders. Frequently, women don't recognize the symptoms, and too often doctors lack sufficient awareness to effectively diagnose the disease.

F.I.T. to Fight Ovarian Cancer is working hard to change the tragic fate of too many women.

Raising public awareness of ovarian cancer by educating doctors and women about the disease could save lives.  More ovarian cancer research is needed to develop early detection tools, better therapies, cures and to prevent the disease.

• Ovarian cancer, the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers, is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women.
• In cases where ovarian cancer is detected before it has spread beyond the ovaries, over 91% of women will survive longer than five years.
• Only 24% of ovarian cancer cases in the U.S. are diagnosed in the beginning stages. When diagnosed in the late stages, the chance of five year survival is only 24-28%.
• The American Cancer Society estimates there will be about 20,180 new cases of the disease in the United States in 2006, and about 15,310 women will die this year because of it.
• 90% of women who get ovarian cancer do not have any of the known risk factors.
• Very little is known about key scientific aspects of the disease.
• Ovarian cancer research is drastically underfunded. The National Cancer Institute spent only $41 million last year on ovarian cancer research.

Until there is a test, AWARENESS is best.

To learn more about Ovarian Cancer:
www.ovarian.org
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2x.asp?sitearea=&dt=33
http://www.aicr.org.uk/ovariancancer.stm?source=Adwords
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/ovariancancer/a/ovarcansilkille.htm