MXBZ

I found out earlier today that it is the first ever World Ovarian Cancer Day. The purpose of the day is to get everyone to send a consistent message about ovarian cancer — for at least one day. Remembering my mom's struggle and our family's, I decided to post the following to Facebook:

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13 years ago my mom knew two things: that she had ovarian cancer and that it had been caught late, just like in 85% of cases, which meant that she had less than a 50% chance of seeing any of her kids enter high school. Not catching it early is ugly but she beat the statistics for a long time. 10 years. She was atypically strong and had support from so many great people — and our family could never thank you all enough.

Eventually though, it's not a matter of strength or support; not a matter chemo or promising new treatments. Eventually — if it's caught late — it's not a matter of recovery because ovarian cancer is exponentially more deadly after its been given a chance to make a footing.

3 1/2 years ago my mom was one of the 14,000 US women to die wounded from a too-late a fight with ovarian cancer.

Cancer is treatable. Even ovarian cancer. The 15% of women who get diagnosed early make it 5 years with 93% certainty. Today on the first World Ovarian Cancer Day we would do well to know two things:

1) These symptoms of ovarian cancer warrant a check-up:

• Increased abdominal size / persistent bloating (not bloating that comes and goes) 
• Difficulty eating/feeling full quickly 
• Abdominal or pelvic pain 
• Needing to pass urine more urgently or more frequently 

2) That detecting cancer — of any type — late is a waste; it can usually be caught early because we have the screenings and exams to do so. Caught early, it can be treated effectively.

And really, detecting most diseases at most stages is a waste. Living healthier and seeking preventative medicine, we can prevent a majority of the diseases that ruin our quality of life and lead to an empty seat at the table. The most advanced treatments in the world aren't nearly as ideal as never having to consider them.

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It's one of the most deadly cancers for a woman to get because of how late it's usually diagnosed. That was the case with my mom's cancer and, although she fought like hell, ovarian cancer added one more woman to its long victim list.

I'd urge anyone with those symptoms to go in and get them checked out. You can't lose; either you don't have cancer (but also a little lighter in the wallet) or you might be able to catch it early when the 5 year survival rate is better than 90% (instead of catching it late when it's worse than 50%).