By Jeff Troth, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity -- Fort Carson PAO
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- An estimated one in 75 women will develop ovarian cancer in their lifetime and less than 40 percent will survive.
"Ovarian cancer is probably one of the rarest cancers that's out there," said Dr. Ashley Hothem, a physician at Evans Army Community Hospital's Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic. "But it is one of the more deadly cancers with a high mortality rate."
According to the American Cancer Society, ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women. They predict that about 22,440 women in the United States will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer this year and more than 14,000 (62 percent) will die from it.
Compare this to breast cancer, the most common cancer in American women, with about 316,120 new diagnosis of breast cancer expected this year and 40,610 (13 percent) likely to die.
"Unfortunately ovarian cancer symptoms are vague -- abdominal pain, bloating, are two of them -- and there is no screening test for it," said Hothem. "So when it does present it is in the later stages."
This cancer typically occurs in women in their fifties and sixties with the average age being 63. Many women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer have a genetic history that may include carrying the BRCA mutation gene and having a strong family history of ovarian cancer.
"There is definitely a family history associated with ovarian cancer," Hothem said. "If someone has a family history of ovarian cancer, they should see their gynecologist."
There has been extensive research to develop a screening test for ovarian cancer, but there hasn't been much success so far, according to the American Cancer Society. The two tests used most often to screen for ovarian cancer are transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) and the CA-125 blood test.
"We can do the ultra sounds here and follow up for ovarian cysts," said Hothem. "But for those we think have ovarian cancer, they are referred off post to a gynecologic oncologist here in Colorado Springs."
Hothem said that during her three years at Evans, she has only referred one patient off post for ovarian cancer. She credits this to the rarity of the cancer and the fact that Evans' patient population is younger and ovarian cancer is less likely in them.
As with most cancers, ovarian cancer is treatable if caught early. Treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and/or radiation therapy.
"For most ovarian cysts that are not cancer, we take care of that here," said Hothem. "But if we think someone has ovarian cancer, we are here to get them to the right people."
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