Janet Young of Carrollton and Sandra Perry of Greenwood, both facing ongoing bouts with ovarian cancer, are urging women to learn the signs and symptoms of a cancer known as “the silent killer.”
Although ovarian cancer is rare, it is the fifth deadliest cancer found in women. This year, an estimated 21,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States, and more than 14,000 people will die. According to the American Cancer Society, ovarian cancer accounts for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. A woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer is about 1 in 75.
“There are symptoms that could possibly be ovarian cancer, and if you have any of those symptoms, it would really be worthwhile to get it checked out,” said Perry. “It can be confusing, because some of the symptoms could be other things. That’s why they call it ‘the silent killer.’ My doctor says, ‘It whispers.’”
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are vague and mimic other ailments — persistent abdominal bloating, indigestion or nausea; changes in appetite, often a loss of appetite or feeling full sooner; feelings of pressure in the pelvis or lower back; needing to urinate more frequently; changes in bowel movements; increased abdominal girth; and feeling tired or lacking energy. Because of this, only about 15 percent of ovarian cancer diagnoses are made in the early stages.
Young, 58, was diagnosed with Stage 3C ovarian cancer in 2014.
“I honestly didn’t know a thing about ovarian cancer,” said Young. “That’s why I was so dumbfounded when I found out that I had it. I just thought when you went to your yearly check-up — you got a pelvic exam, you had a Pap smear, a mammogram — and everything came back OK, then you were fine. Over the years, no one, no physician, had told me the signs or symptoms of ovarian cancer.”
Young said she first started experiencing symptoms in 2013, but the cancer went undetected for about seven months.
“I was having a lot of bloating then,” she said. “I was having chest pains and indigestion, so I went to my internist.”
Young’s doctor found that she had gallstones, and she soon had surgery to remove her gallbladder.
“The chest pains did go away, so I felt like I did have a bad gallbladder also,” she said, “but I got a hematoma, a big one, which came from the surgery.”
Young continued to exhibit many of the symptoms of ovarian cancer, but she thought the hematoma was causing her pain.
“I still wasn’t feeling right,” she said. “I was just feeling like I had been kicked in the stomach. It just kept aching, and it wouldn’t go away.”
Young had a routine visit with her internist in February 2014. That’s when she brought up the lingering pain.
“After an examination, I was told I had a mass, that it was not the hematoma,” she said.
A scan showed that Young had cancer, and it had spread from her ovaries to her abdominal cavity.
“What happened was the hematoma pain was pretty much gone. The pain was coming from a 2-inch tumor on the outside of my diaphragm,” Young said. “That whole time, I was thinking that it was still that hematoma, and it wasn’t.”
Young sought treatment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She had nine chemotherapy treatments before a debulking surgery, which is the removal of malignant tumors and, often with ovarian cancer, a hysterectomy.
After nine additional chemotherapy treatments, Young’s ovarian cancer had gone into remission. In May, however, her doctor found that her cancer had recurred after nine months of remission.
She is currently taking chemotherapy.
“You don’t know the symptoms of ovarian cancer, and they mimic a lot of other things, like the gallbladder and intestinal problems,” said Young. “By the time you find out what is wrong with you, you’re in late stage, and usually women don’t do well at late stage.”
The five-year survival rate is 39 percent for Stage 3C ovarian cancer and 17 percent for Stage 4.
Young said keeping a positive attitude helps her a lot. Hearing Perry, 81, talk about her continuous dealings with ovarian cancer also inspires Young to keep fighting, despite her recent relapse.
Perry has been battling ovarian cancer since 2004, when she was diagnosed in Stage 3C. In the past almost 12 years, she has never gone more than six months without a recurrence.
Perry said, while living past five years with Stage 3C ovarian cancer is a “miracle,” recurrences are not as rare. After treatment and surgery, statistically the cancer will re-emerge every three to six months, which is how Perry has lived for more than a decade now.
“In my case, it keeps recurring, and I stay on chemo,” she said. “We quit counting when it got to 200, so I’ve had well over 200 chemo treatments.”
Perry first found out she had ovarian cancer in September 2004. Her symptoms were prevalent a month before.
“I started feeling full and bloated, and I didn’t gain any weight,” she said. “I just felt full, and my clothes were tight, and I had changes in my digestive system. I didn’t really pay too much attention to it, but right after Labor Day 2004, I had this intense pain.”
That’s when Perry went to her internist. After an ultrasound, her doctor confirmed that Perry had ovarian cancer.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” said Perry. “I really just remember noticing the symptoms when the pain hit. If I hadn’t had the pain, I probably wouldn’t have done anything about it.”
She had her first debulking surgery in late September and began chemotherapy while she was in the hospital.
“By the spring, I was back to normal, and in the summer I had a clinical trial, and it had come back,” she said.
Perry has had two other debulking surgeries and two radiation treatments. She has chemotherapy about every three weeks.
“My cancer is an ongoing battle, and I will continue to stay on chemo as long as I want to stay alive,” she said. “I call it a perennial garden, because you can knock it down, but there are so many tiny little cells in there. It is just impossible to get them all, and they will pop up again.”
Currently, there is no screening test for ovarian cancer. It is detected by a combination of a pelvic exam, a CA-125 blood test and an ultrasound. One by itself is not always reliable.
Only 10 percent of ovarian cancer cases are caused by genetic mutations.
Perry said that her mother died of ovarian cancer.
“I didn’t know much about it. (My mother) never even said that it was ovarian cancer,” said Perry. “We came to that conclusion after she died. We knew it was cancer, and we knew it was in that area.”
In Young’s family, on the other hand, cancer has never been a threat.
“My family had always had heart problems, so I was shocked that (cancer) can happen to anybody at any time,” Young said.
The American Cancer Society states that about half of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 63 years or older. Both Young and Perry said, however, they have seen women of all ages — some in their 20s — with the disease.
“It can affect any age,” said Young. “It was an eye-opener for me.”
Mississippi has two major fundraising events that raise awareness and benefit ovarian cancer research.
Ovarian Cycle Jackson is one of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund’s series of indoor cycling events that support the fight against ovarian cancer. The event is for anyone who is interested in raising money for ovarian cancer research.
Ovarian Cycle Jackson is today at The Club at The Township in Ridgeland.
Anyone who would like to contribute to the event may send a check to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Attn: Ovarian Cycle Jackson, 14 Pennsylvania Plaza Suite 1710, New York, NY 10122.
For more information, visit www.newkscares.com.
The Run for the Ribbons 5K, which raises awareness for the five primary gynecologic cancers, will be held Saturday on the campus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. The event is being sponsored by the Department of Gynecology Oncology. For more information, email runfortheribbons5K@gmail.com or call (601) 984-5320.
Young said any woman who experiences the warning signs of ovarian cancer, especially if those symptoms persist for more than two weeks, should go to a doctor.
“You have to be your own advocate for your body,” said Young. “If you feel something different, don’t wait. You need to tell your doctor.”
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
