September is ovarian cancer awareness month

By Robin Dudgeon

Updated 8 months ago

Ovarian Cancer Canada is encouraging people to buy sunflowers and wear teal during the month of September to raise awareness for ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most fatal cancer in women and is notoriously difficult to detect as there is no test for ovarian cancer, and it cannot be detected on your standard pap smear. Over 2,600 women are diagnosed each year with 1,750 of them succumbing to the disease.

"There's no sort of adequate screening at this point in time for the population at large. Some of the things that we as physicians and as people need to think about is the instance of ovarian cancer increases with age. The older you are you have to think more and more that is a possibility. The highest proportions of cases that are diagnosed are in women ages 50 to 59," said Dr. Denis Fortier, Vice-President Medical for the Central Regional Health Authority (RHA).

Fortier said that getting an ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test may help diagnose ovarian cancer, but that they are not that reliable.

"Both of them are not great at identifying ovarian cancer…It's kind of like hitting a small nail with a sledgehammer almost, we don't have tests that are very specific to ovarian cancer at this time. There's a lot of research going on but really that's what we have available at the moment," said Fortier.

Women are warned to look out for symtoms. If they have one or more of the following symptoms for three weeks they should consult a doctor: swelling or bloating of the abdomen; pelvic discomfort or heaviness; back or abdominal pain; fatigue; gas, nausea, or indigestion; change in bowel habits; emptying your bladder frequently; menstrual irregularities; or weight loss or weight gain.

Women should also be warned that ovarian cancer is known to be genetic, and women with two or more close relatives (mother, sister, daughter) with ovarian cancer are more at risk for the disease. The risk is even higher if the relative was under 50 when they were diagnosed.

"I think there's been a lot of effort in the top three cancers - breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer – those are the ones that get all the attention, all the research and so once you get down to the lower cancers there's just less media attention and less research going on. But it's always been there," said Fortier.

The Winners Walk of Hope in support of ovarian cancer will be happening in Winnipeg and a smaller walk in Brandon on Sept. 11. Brandon walkers will be meeting at The Sportsplex, 30 Knowlton Drive with registration at 1:00 p.m. while in Winnipeg walkers will be meeting in Kildonan Park with registration starting at 8:30 a.m.

For more information you can visit www.ovariancanada.org

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