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Talking about a silent killer
OVARIAN cancer is often called the 'silent killer', because many patients do not have symptoms until the disease is advanced and has already spread.
Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than all the other gynaecological cancers – cancers of the uterus, vagina, vulva and cervix – put together.
Proportionally, more women die from gynaecological cancer than breast cancer, but the latter is more widely publicised.
Wellbeing of Women, which raises money for medical research into reproductive and gynaecological health, is committed to improving the survival rate of gynaelogical cancers.
Throughout February and March, it has been urging women to follow a four-point health code as part of its Gynaelogical Cancers Campaign.
They should know their norm, attend routine screenings, be aware of the symptoms of gynaelogical cancers and don't be afraid.
It's sound advice, according to Berni Cardy, a gynaeoncology nurse specialist at South Tyneside District Hospital.
She said: "I think being aware of what is normal and what is not normal is good advice.
"There is still a lot of taboo around some gynaelogical cancers, but don't be frightened to seek advice.
"You know your body better than anybody else and you know when something is not right, so seek help and make sure someone's listening to you."
Ms Cardy said GPs in South Tyneside will see just one or two cases of gynaelogical cancer a year.
Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women in the UK.
In North East England, 280 women are diagnosed with it every year and there are about 6,600 new cases in the UK annually.
At present, there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, and only women with a strong family history are regularly monitored for early signs of the disease.
However, Cancer Research UK is supporting research at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead known as the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS).
The UKCTOCS will help to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of a national ovarian cancer screening programme.
Women are invited for cervical screening every three years between the ages of 25 and 49 and every five years between 50 and 64.
If cervical cancer is detected at the earliest stage, more than nine in 10 women survive for five years past the point of diagnosis.
But if it is detected at the most advanced stage, only 15 to 30 per cent of women do so.
Cancer Research UK estimates that cervical screening prevents up to 5,000 deaths in UK women every year.
Ms Cardy welcomed the Gynaelogical Cancers Campaign, saying: "I think it is very important because other cancers get more awareness."
Nurses from across the region are targeting women shoppers in an awareness campaign at Asda, near the MetroCentre, Gateshead.
Ms Cardy will be among those manning a stand, offering information and advice, all day next Thursday.
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Weather for South Shields
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
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