Blue Ribbon Bakery--Ovarian Cancer Resources

Welcome to the Parlour

I know you didn't visit the Blue Ribbon Bakery to learn about ovarian cancer. So what is this page doing here? As I expand my pages I intend to include more of my life and cancer has been a part of my life since my diagnosis in July 1994. The story of my illness and how I coped with it is included in Steve Dunn's Cancer Guide. There will be more about Steve's wonderful site further down this page. And five years after my diagnosis, I've written an update on my condition.

I promised you "What every woman and every man who loves a woman needs to know about ovarian cancer." Last year about 27,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with OC, not many compared with heart disease or breast cancer. The sad thing about OC is that it is on the rise; each year for at least the past 17 years the number of diagnoses has grown. And with more than 14,000 deaths in the U.S. last year, OC is the single most deadly reproductive cancer for women. Even sadder is that many of these deaths might be prevented with earlier detection and treatment.
OC has been called the silent killer because the early symptoms are so subtle that they often go untreated and undiagnosed until too late. Actually, as the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition says, "It whispers." We need to listen. You should be alert to the signs that well meaning doctors may dismiss or mistake for gastrointestinal problems. Be prepared to be active and assertive in pursuing unexplained symptoms.

Here are four health tips for women (of any age) from Ovarian Plus International: Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Quarterly

Memorize these two words: Gynecologic Oncologist

Most women have never heard of this specialty.
Women diagnosed with OC survive longer when their initial surgery was performed by a gynecologic oncologist.
If you ever face surgery and OC is suspected, you have the right to have that surgery performed by a gynecologic oncologist.

If you have abdominal swelling and gastrointestinal problems that last longer than four weeks for no known reason, insist that your medical professional arrange three non-invasive tests:
Transvaginal sonography
CA125-II blood test
Bimanual recto-vaginal pelvic exam

Learn about your family medical history.
You should arrange twice-yearly screening with the three procedures listed above if your mother, sister, aunt, grandmother or cousin has had ovarian cancer
You may inquire about screening if you have had breast cancer or if you have taken fertility drugs

Call 1-800-444-4441 any time, any day for names and contact information of three gynecologic oncologists in any area code.

Internet Support For People Concerned About Ovarian Cancer

I could continue with lots of advice and bombard you with hundreds of links; I have chosen instead to list those few sites which are truly comprehensive and will lead you to a wealth of information and support.

National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
NOCC provides an on-line newsletter, pictures of many of us, pictures of the ovarian quilts, a humor list, a chat room, answers from experts, legislative alerts and much more. Don't miss the Mind2Body section.

Conversations!
Cindy Melancon publishes a monthly newsletter full of tips from herself and contributors. You will find something of value each month. Just fill out the on-line form to receive the newsletter by mail. The cost is minimal, even free if necessary. There is also a penpal/phonepal matching service called Voices at the web site. Cindy is one of the founders of the National Ovarian Cancer Alliance, a patient lobby just being formed in Washington D.C.

Ovarian Cancer Research Notebook
Mike Davis compiles information on nearly every treatment option for OC. There are links to the latest information on clinical trials. And charts that many patients print out and take to their doctors. This is the first place to go for data about a particular drug or regimen.

Chemosensitivity Testing
If you read my story, you will understand why I include this link. Although links to these articles by Dr. Larry Weisenthal can be found at the other sites I've listed, I don't want you to miss them because I credit drug resistance testing with saving my life. This information is especially important for women facing initial surgery.

Ovarian Problems Discussion List
Scroll down to Ovarian on the form to subscribe to this unmoderated e-mail list of nearly 800 women, mates, children, doctors. A great group with which to share and receive information and support. If you are new to e-mail lists, you might want to read the pros and cons at KTF! (below) before deciding to subscribe.

General Cancer Internet Resources
These three sites are seminal.

Steve Dunn's Cancer Guide
Steve will show you the ins and outs of medical researching as well as provide you with inspirational patient stories, a humane perspective on statistics, links to alternative treatments and their critics. His own story of survival with widely metastisized kidney cancer is truly amazing.

Keepin' The Faith!
Pam Honsinger created this page when her husband was fighting Hodgkin's disease. There is a wealth of information and connections. This is the place to learn about electronic cancer networking. Pam also maintains a service called CanConnect to help you find e-mail penpals. There are also poems, fiction and non-fiction articles submitted by readers. Check out the Ovarian Links page which I helped to compile for KTF.

CancerONLINE

Arlene Harder is a founder and treasured resource of The Wellness Community-Foothills. You too can now learn imagry and meditation techniques from her at this website. There's also much more information as well as thought provoking articles. I especially like the section on preparing for the doctor's visit and other material related to chosing and working with your health team.

My View of U.S. Health Care Politics as Illustrated by Tom Tomorrow

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