Some of you may have already seen this before. This is a true story. Age 22 is the youngest known age of a woman who got it.
I didn't make this PRIVATE because I want every woman to see it, copy and paste it and send it to people you know!
With this simple blood test that doctors don't give, you can reassure yourself!!!!!

SIGNS OF OVARIAN CANCER (Even In The Absence Of Ovaries)
An Eye-Opener On Ovarian Cancer

THIS IS A MUST TO READ TO THE END
I hope you all take the time to read this and pass it on to all you can.

Years ago, Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer. Her symptoms were
inconclusive, and she was treated for everything under the sun until it
was too late. This blood test finally identified her illness but alas, too
late. Gene Wilder is her widower.

Kathy's Story:
This is the story of Kathy West
As all of you know, I have Primary Peritoneal Cancer. This cancer has only
recently been identified as its OWN type of cancer, but it is essentially
Ovarian Cancer. Both types of cancer are diagnosed in the same way,
with the 'tumor marker' CA-125 BLOOD TEST, and they are treated in the same
way: - surgery to remove the primary tumor and then chemotherapy with
Taxol and Carboplatin.
Having gone through this ordeal, I want to save others from the same fate.
This is why I am sending this message to you and hope you will print it
and give it or send it via E-mail to everybody you know.
One thing I have learned is that each of us must take TOTAL responsibility
for our own health care. I thought I had done that because I always had an
annual physical and PAP smear, did a monthly Self-Breast Exam, went to the
dentist at least twice a year, etc. I even insisted on a sigmoidoscopy and
a bone density test last year.
When I had a total hysterectomy in 1993, I thought that I did not have to worry about
getting any of the female reproductive organ cancers.
LITTLE DID I KNOW.
I don't have ovaries (and they were HEALTHY when they were removed), but I have
what is essentially ovarian cancer. Strange, isn't it?
These are just SOME of the things our Doctors never tell us: ONE out of
every 55 women will get OVARIAN or PRIMARY PERITONEAL CANCER.
The 'CLASSIC' symptoms are an ABDOMEN that rather SUDDENLY ENLARGES and
CONSTIPATION and/or DIARRHEA . I had these classic symptoms and went to the doctor.
Because these symptoms seemed to be 'abdominal', I went to a gastroentologist.
He ran tests that were designed to determine whether there was a bacterial infection;
these tests were negative, and I was diagnosed with 'Irritable Bowel Syndrome'.
I guess I would have accepted this diagnosis had it not been for my enlarged
abdomen. I swear to you, it looked like I was 4-5 months pregnant! I therefore insisted on
more tests. They took an X-ray of my abdomen; it was negative. I was again assured that I
had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and was encouraged to go on my scheduled month-long
trip to Europe . I couldn't wear any of my slacks or shorts because I couldn't get them buttoned, and I
KNEW something was radically wrong. I INSISTED on more tests, and they
(reluctantly) scheduled me for a CT-Scan (just to shut me up, I think). This is what
I mean by 'taking charge of our own health care.' The CT-Scan showed a lot of fluid in my
abdomen.....(NOT normal). Needless to say, I had to cancel my trip and have FIVE POUNDS
of fluid drawn off at the hospital (not a pleasant experience I assure you), but NOTHING compared
to what was ahead of me.
Tests revealed cancer cells in the fluid. Finally, finally, finally, the doctor ran a CA-125 blood test, and
I was properly diagnosed.
I HAD THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS FOR OVARIAN CANCER, AND YET THIS
SIMPLE CA-125 BLOOD TEST HAD NEVER BEEN RUN ON ME, not as part of
my annual physical exam and not when I was symptomatic. This is an
inexpensive and simple blood test!
PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS AND
RELATIVES TO INSIST ON A CA-125 BLOOD TEST EVERY YEAR AS
PART OF THEIR ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMS.
Be fore warned that their doctors might try to talk them out of it, saying, 'IT ISN'T NECESSARY.'
Believe me, had I known then what I know now, we would have caught my cancer much earlier (before it was a stage 3 cancer).

Insist on the CA-125 BLOOD TEST; DO NOT take 'NO' for an answer!
The normal range for a CA-125 BLOOD TEST is between zero and 35.
MINE WAS 754. (That's right, 754!). If the number is slightly above 35, you can
have another done in three or six months and keep a close eye on it, just as
women do when they have fibroid tumors or when men have a slightly
elevated PSA test (Prostatic Specific Antigens) that helps diagnose prostate
cancer. Having the CA-125 test done annually can alert you early, and that's the
goal in diagnosing any type of cancer - catching it early.
Do you know 55 women? If so, at least one of them, by statistics, will have this
VERY AGGRESSIVE cancer. Please, go to your doctor and insist on a CA-125 test
and have one EVERY YEAR for the rest of your life.

Copy, paste, and send this message to every woman you know.
Though the median age for this cancer is 56, (and, guess what, I'm exactly 56, )
women as young as 22 have it. Age is no factor.

A NOTE FROM THE RN:

Well , after reading this, I made some calls. I found that the CA-125 test
is an ovarian screening test equivalent to a man's PSA test prostate
screen (which my husband's doctor automatically gives him in his physical each
year and insurance pays for it). I called the general practitioner's office
about having the test done. The nurse had never heard of it. She told me that
she doubted that insurance would pay for it. So I called Prudential Insurance
Co, and got the same response. Never heard of it - it won't be covered. I
explained that it was the same as the PSA test that they had paid for my
husband for years. After conferring with whomever they confer with, she told me
that the CA-125 would be covered.
It is $75 in a GP's office and $125 at the GYN's. This is a screening test
that should be required just like a PAP smear (a PAP smear cannot detect
problems with your ovaries). And you must insist that your insurance
company pay for it.

Gene Wilder and Pierce Brosnan (his wife had it too) are lobbying for
women's health issues, saying that this test should be required in our
physicals, just like the PAP and the mammogram. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO
SEND THIS OUT TO ALL THOSE YOU CAN. BE IT MALE OR FEMALE, IT SHOULD NOT MATTER, AS THEY CAN FORWARD IT ALSO TO THOSE LOVED ONES THEY KNOW.