Johnston: September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Published 9:56 am Wednesday, September 4, 2019

I’ve heard of ovarian cancer and I know that the teal ribbon represents ovarian cancer awareness, but other than that I was pretty uneducated about the disease.

When I started as the family and consumer sciences agent here in Clark County, I found out that Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association focuses a great deal on ovarian cancer awareness and prevention, so I was curious to learn more.

Though ovarian cancer only accounts for about 3 percent of cancer in women, it ranks fifth in cancer deaths in women and causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. The American Cancer Society estimates that 22,530 women will receive a new diagnosis and nearly 14,000 women will die from ovarian cancer this year.

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The alarmingly high mortality rate from ovarian cancer is mostly because symptoms are easily mistaken for non-threatening conditions. Symptoms can include bloating, swelling, weight loss, pelvic discomfort, frequent urination, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome to name a few.

Often these symptoms don’t show up until the disease is advanced, and treatment at that stage does not have great outcomes.

So what can you do? The easiest thing you can do is take advantage of free ovarian cancer screenings. The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Ovarian Cancer Screening Program provides free annual sonographic screenings to women across Kentucky with the goal of early detection.

When ovarian cancer is caught early, it is treatable and can be curable but advanced stage ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis for survival. Most ovarian cancers occur in women who are over the age of 50.

Women who are eligible to take advantage of these free screenings are over the age of 50 (including those who have no symptoms and no personal history of ovarian cancer) as well as any woman over the age of 25 who has a family history of ovarian cancer.

If you are eligible and would like to take advantage of these screenings, call 1-800-766-8279 to schedule an appointment.

There are several locations throughout Kentucky where you can get the screenings, not just in Lexington.

Early detection is the best way to fight this type of cancer so talk with your healthcare provider about screenings.

For additional information about ovarian cancer or women’s health, call the Clark County Cooperative Extension Service at 859-744-4682. And remember to wear teal to promote ovarian cancer awareness.

Shonda Johnston is the Clark County Extension agent for family and consumer sciences. She can be reached at 859-744-4682 or by email at shonda.johnston@uky.edu.