Staggering statistics (ie. why more money should go to Ovarian Cancer research)

Brought to you by the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance

Each year, approximately 20,000 American women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 15,000 women die of the disease. In 2008, it is estimated that 21,650 women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 15,520 women will die from the disease.

Malignant ovarian cancer incidence and death counts
Year
Incidence Count
Mortality Count

2005
22,220
15,0321


2004
20,095
14,716

2003
19,871
14,657

2002
19,177
14,682

2001
19,123
14,414

2000
19,896
14,060

1999
19,556
13,627

Prevalence
Approximately 174,236 women living in the United States have or have a history of ovarian cancer.

Lifetime risks
One in 72 women will develop ovarian cancer (lifetime risk).
One in 95 women will die from ovarian cancer.
A woman’s lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is 1.39 percent.
A woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer and dying from it is 1.05 percent.

Survival and stage at diagnosis
The overall five-year relative survival rate for all women with ovarian cancer is 46 percent. This means that compared to women in the general population, five years from the time of diagnosis only 46 percent of women with ovarian cancer are still alive.
However, the survival rate improves greatly to 93 percent if the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage before it has spread. Only 19 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at this local stage.
Approximately 75 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage after the cancer has spread beyond the ovary.
The five-year survival rate for women with ovarian cancer has not significantly increased in the past 30 years—a mere 8 percent.
Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer from 1975 to 1979 experienced a five-year survival rate of approximately 38 percent. Today this rate is approximately 46 percent.
Ovarian cancer survival rates have not improved as significantly as those of some other cancers that affect primarily women. For example, women diagnosed with breast cancer from 1975 to 1979 experienced a five-year survival rate of 75 percent and today this rate is 89 percent.

Recurrence
The issue of ovarian cancer recurrence is complicated. Research suggests that between 70 percent to 90 percent of all women with ovarian cancer will, at some point, have a recurrence of their disease. The risk of recurrence varies based on multiple factors, including the stage at diagnosis.

Approximately 90 – 95 percent of patients with stage IV ovarian cancer will have a recurrence at some point.
Approximately 80 – 85 percent of patients with stage III ovarian cancer who are suboptimal (a large volume of residual tumor remains after initial surgery) will have a recurrence.
Approximately 70 – 80 percent of patients with optimal stage III ovarian cancer will have a recurrence.
Approximately 30 percent of patients with stage II ovarian cancer will have a recurrence.
Approximately 10 percent of patients with stage I ovarian cancer will have a recurrence.
Improvements in therapy are resulting in later recurrences. However, researchers are now trying to determine whether the treatments are just delaying the recurrence or whether fewer patients overall are having recurrences.

Background:
None of the registries track this information. It has been gleaned from research articles by Deborah Armstrong, MD of our Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee. The overall number is also in the Johns Hopkins Pathology, education piece on “Treatment of Recurrent Disease”
*Note: This was published in 2002 and is the most current information available.

Age at diagnosis and death
From 2001 to 2005, the most recent period for which data is available, the median age at diagnosis for ovarian cancer was 63 years.
Approximately 87 percent of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 45 years or older.
Approximately 68 percent of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 55 years or older.
Approximately 32 percent of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 54 years or younger.
Approximately 13 percent of women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 45 years or younger.
From 2001 to 2005, the most recent period for which data is available, the median age at death for ovarian cancer was 71 years.
Rank in relation to other cancers: incidence (PDF)
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women in the United States.(2004)


Rank in relation to other cancers: mortality
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among U.S. women.

Ovarian cancer has remained the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among U.S. women since 1999.
Mortality rates are slightly less for minority women than for Caucasian women.
Trends in incidence and mortality
Over the past decade there has been a slight decrease – less than 1 percent per year – in ovarian cancer incidence rates, however, during the same time, the actual incidence numbers increased by approximately 3,000 women.
During most of the past decade (1996 to 2005), the ovarian cancer mortality rate has remained stable.
The breast cancer mortality rate has decreased 2.2 percent per year (1990 to 2005) and the cervical cancer mortality rate has decreased 3.4 percent per year in a similar time period (1995 to 2005).

Early Detection
Early detection of ovarian cancer can save lives. There are two main barriers to early diagnosis – the lack of an ovarian cancer screening test and a lack of ovarian cancer awareness.
Lack of Screening Test – It is important to note that the Pap test does not screen for ovarian cancer; it screens for cervical cancer and some infections. There is currently no test that exists for ovarian cancer that can be used on all women to screen for the disease, such as mammograms for breast cancer and the Pap test for cervical cancer. Methods are being researched to monitor women at high risk for the disease but currently no test exists to screen all women in the general public.

Lack of Awareness – Few women know enough about ovarian cancer and increased awareness is needed among medical professionals. Right now the best chance for early detection is to raise awareness about ovarian cancer among women and the health care community.

Current recommendations
Currently no routine screening test exists for ovarian cancer. If a woman is experiencing ovarian cancer symptoms or has a strong family history or genetic predisposition such as a BRCA mutation, doctors may monitor her with one or a combination of tests:

CA-125 blood test – CA-125 is a protein found in greater concentration in cancerous cells. Although a CA-125 blood test can be a useful tool for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, it is not uncommon for a CA-125 count to be elevated in premenopausal women due to benign conditions unrelated to ovarian cancer. Uterine fibroids, liver disease, inflammation of the fallopian tubes and other types of cancer can elevate a woman's CA-125 level resulting in a false positive test. The CA-125 test is more accurate in postmenopausal women. However, in about 20 percent of cases of advanced stage ovarian cancer, and 50 percent of cases of early stage ovarian cancer, the CA-125 is NOT elevated, even though there is ovarian cancer present. As a result, the CA-125 is generally one of several tools used to diagnose ovarian cancer. One of the most important uses of the CA-125 test is to evaluate the disease’s progress and tumor response in patients undergoing treatment, and to monitor the levels of women in remission for evidence of disease recurrence. An elevated CA-125 can indicate ovarian cancer; however, as noted above, it may sometimes result in false positives.

Transvaginal ultrasound – A transvaginal ultrasound is a test used to examine a woman’s reproductive organs, mainly: the vagina, the uterus, the fallopian tubes, and the bladder. This is done by inserting a probe into the woman’s vagina. The probe sends off sound waves which reflect off of body structures. The waves are then received by a computer that turns them into a picture the doctor can examine.

Pelvic exam – During this exam a doctor places one or two fingers into a woman’s vagina and another over her abdomen to feel the size, shape and position of the ovaries and uterus. Ovarian cancer is usually in an advanced stage if it is found during a pelvic exam.

2nd Chemo treatment

As I said in an earlier blog, it was a 6 hour treatment that also involved the clinical trial of Avastin. She used a topical ointment to numb her skin over her port, so the hooking up of the IV was a breeze this time...yay! She started having problems pretty soon after taking the Taxol with her legs. First it felt like restless legs, and then the pain came. Sharp pains that effects her knees and legs. Her Taxol treatment is a total of 3 hours, so she was pretty miserable during that, but the other two treatments went fine. She was told she could take a half of a percoset if needed next treatment. I was not able to go due to the fact that I still wasn't sure if I was carrying a virus with me. Mom and dad were exhausted, but mom's not able to sleep well due to the steroid that they give. She doesn't sleep well for the first week after treatment.

Yesterday and today she's been feeling fine. Tomorrow is when things might start acting up. I will be heading out there tomorrow morning because I can't stand staying away any longer!! If you have messages you'd like to leave her, write them here and I'll print them out!

Mom's spirits are up and down which is, of course, completely normal. I just pray that her heart is lifted and she still feels the support she desperately needs during this time.

I'm in need of a drink

The hard kind. The "make things a little fuzzy" kind. The kind that allows me to laugh or to cry...and I need to do both.

I rarely feel this need, mostly because I don't handle liquor well (especially the next morning!) and also because I've learned to live without it.

But yesterday and this morning...gah.

I need a drink.

Little Picasso

Women...hide your Sharpies...and don't get too into blog searching. Finally, after having three kids, we had a kid use the walls and furniture to go Sharpie crazy.

Thank goodness it was on the cheaper furniture, not on the newly painted walls, and on Corrin's wall that was planned on being painted soon!! The only thing that hurts is the toy box that my mom hand painted. I'm hoping that Mr. Clean magic eraser won't let me down.

How I deal with winter

My earlier post labeled It's that time of year showed a quick sense of how I am really, really REALLY wanting it to be springtime.

I took a picture of what I'm doing in my free time:



I told you...I'm reading contantly. Putting ideas in my head, trying to find certain things either online or beg Davey to order them!! I have serious cabin fever and the only answer is more flowers!! :)

Memorable quote

I read a book yesterday by one of my favorite authors James Patterson. Mr. Patterson normally writes suspenseful mysteries or murder crime books and I love them, but yesterday I picked up a book called Sundays at Tiffany's,

The book was written after a statement that Mr. Patterson's son had said when very young. "Love means you can never be apart." During the book, that theme resonated and it was actually a love story, but boy, did that statement affect me like no other.

What does it mean to love? For me, there are quite a few different kinds of love. You've got your agape. Your unconditional. Your eros. Platonic. Familial. Religious. The way a mother loves her child. When looking up the definition, it's hard to define what love truly is. To really know, is to have really loved.

"Love isn't blind, it just only sees what matters."

"Love is friendship, friendship is love.
If love fails, friendship should remain.
For friendship is the foundation of love."

"A meeting between two beings
who complete one another,
who are made for
each other, borders already,
in my opinion, on a miracle."

"Love is like an eternal flame,
Once it is lit, it will continue to burn for all time."

These are, of course, talking of the eros love, but the idea is the same with all loves. Once you really feel love, it won't leave you. It will stay with you forever.

With all that is happening in my life, I need to remember this. Loss is huge. All encompassing. However, the idea of love never being able to be taken away from you is so powerful, it heals my heart.

Playing with Photoshop

Brian was kind enough to get me Photoshop for Christmas this year and I'm slowly starting to figure out some of the features. Here are some very rough projects that I've worked on.

Missing out

I miss my mom. I haven't seen her since her last chemo treatment because she wasn't feeling great the first week after and then my kids have been sick the last couple of weeks.

Now I think I'm coming down with a cold. I just feel like the only thing I can do to help out is to go with her to her chemo appointment and now I have to miss that. I know dad will be there, but it will be her longest chemo treatment (6 hours) and I hate to miss it. However, talking to mom made me feel a bit better because she knows and I know that it would be terrible for me to go to the cancer treatment center with a cold. I could get a lot of cancer patients sick.

I know I've said it before, but I can't stand that they live so far away. With Riordan in school only half day, I can't just make a run over there, it takes 40 minutes to get there and 40 minutes to get back, and Riordan is only gone for 3 hours. Not enough time.

I also missed celebrating my dad's birthday. He needs some joy and some time off. I'm thinking of going to see Push with him, but I know he's afraid to leave mom for too long.

Brian was sick all day today and sleeping a lot. I didn't get too much done for fear my normal activities would wake him. When he gets sick, it really wipes him out. I'm tired of colds and just wish that everyone would get better!!

It's that time of year

Seed, flower, bulb and shrub catalogs are pouring in. It's like Christmas everyday when I go to check the mail! It's hard, because I know most of my perennial and shrub buying will be from Picadilly rather than anywhere else (can anyone say HUGE discounts?) but I love to get ideas for the new year, and I also love to share new plants with my boss, Davey.

With the snow falling, and it currently being in the teens, I pour over the catalogs wishing it was time to plant!! I love finding new varieties of used and tried plants. Any variety of agastache catches my eye. So drought tolerant, and a very long blooming time. Plus, the hummingbirds cannot stay away from it!! www.Highcountrygardens.com is a great place to buy different varieties of agastache if it's a favorite of yours!

Agastache "Ava"


Agastache "Acapulco Orange"


I'm also very excited to see the new bulbs that I planted last fall. I know I have a bit until they start poking up, but seeing the shoots barely poking out of the ground gives me great pleasure and the hope that winter is almost done!





I will also be planting more groundcovers in the spring to go around my bulbs. Too much mulch and not enough flowers. A couple that I have been reading about is the alyssum montanam which is a beautiful yellow gold.


Another is a type of Veronica that is a nice light purple which will be a great contrast to the orange from the Juan tulip that I posted up above.


Seriously people, I cannot wait 'til spring!! I'm designing. I'm inspired. Just get here all ready!!!

Prayer

I talked to my mom a bit the other day about prayer and praying to God that the cancer will go away. She hesitated a bit and said she was unsure to pray for that. We, as believers, talk about praying to God and asking things "according to his will". I, and my mom, have lost a LOT of people to cancer, and they were GOOD people. Fantastic people. People who died too early. It just didn't make sense. We sat over these people and prayed for them daily. Prayed that their cancer would go away. Is this how He wants us to pray????

So, when I pray, I pray that God will keep my mom's spirits up. I pray and beg to Him that my mom has more ministries to give here on Earth than up in Heaven. I pray that my dad can stay strong and will be able to deal with whatever comes his way.

According to His will.

God has a plan for each and everyone of us. We have no inkling what His plan is when it comes to our personal lives. We have to have the belief that He is in control over the situation and we just need to hang on for the ride.

On that note, please keep my friends Lena and Paul in your prayers. Their son goes in for surgery today. He is a baby who will be going under anesthesia.

Dear Lord, I pray that you calm my friend's Lena heart and mind. I pray that baby Austin's surgery goes quickly and effortlessly. I pray that she is surrounded by caring nurses that will say the right things to Lena to help her during the time where she cannot be with Austin. Please, Lord, hear my prayer. I pray this all in your son, Jesus Christ's, name. Amen.