It's been 16 years since Jeanene Smith was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian cancer, which her general physician caught two months after her gynecologist dismissed Smith's worries as "hysteria."
"If I'd seen 'N.E.D.' before my diagnosis, I think I would have been a better advocate for myself," said Smith, 58.
"But that long ago, women weren't really taught to look for symptoms."
The documentary "N.E.D." — an acronym for "No Evidence of Disease" — means to change that. "N.E.D." is both a movie and a rock band of six gynecologists who specialize in what the movie describes as "below the belt" cancers. "N.E.D." is screening nationally Feb. 4 at Regis Cinema theaters (the Denver showing is at 7:30 p.m. at the United Artists Denver Pavilions), and a DVD will be released later this year.
The rock band N.E.D. is front and center in the documentary, but so are the ovarian-cancer patients who are N.E.D.'s biggest groupies. They chant "N! E! D!" the way Bruce Springsteen's fans chant "Brruuuuuuce!"
"The doctors are multidimensional," Smith said. "They're not only exceptionally great doctors, but great musicians and compassionate human beings. I don't think we often see that side of doctors. We want them to solve our problems and move on."
But sometimes doctors, like Smith's dismissive gynecologist, don't solve the problems. Many think of ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancers as a disease of the elderly, not something that occurs in younger women.
"I was 42 when I was diagnosed," Smith said.
"A lot of people think that ovarian cancer is an older woman's disease. Most commonly, it's seen in women 55 or older. But it happens if you're 42. It happens if you're in your 20s. We know women of all ages who've been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In the U.S., 20,000 women a year are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but I think that number is higher because often the cancer has metastasized."
Dr. Joanie Mayer Hope, who grew up in Boulder and now practices medicine in Alaska, is N.E.D.'s front woman, a hard-core singer with enviable arms. She sees "N.E.D." the documentary as a way to reach people who otherwise might not give a thought to below-the-belt cancers.
"It's an untold story, with the very unusual lens of six GYNs who founded a rock band to spread the word about the women we care for," Hope said.
"It's created community discussions, and in some places, it's raised money for research."
Ovarian-cancer symptoms include abdominal pain or swelling; bloating or increased abdominal girth; constipation; fatigue; frequent urination and early satiety, or feeling full shortly after beginning a meal.
"The symptoms are so general that they apply to almost every woman," says Jeanene Smith, an ovarian- cancer survivor and associate director of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance.
"If a woman experiences even one symptom 12 or more times during the course of a month, she should ask her doctor to help her rule out ovarian cancer. There is no test for ovarian cancer. A Pap smear doesn't screen for ovarian cancer, but over 60 percent of women think it does.
"But a woman can ask her doctor to order a Trans Vaginal Ultrasound (TVU), perform a pelvic-rectal exam, and order a CA-125 blood test, which measures inflammation often present when cancer is active," she said.
Those procedures usually are covered by health insurance plans, Smith said, though they are not routinely offered, like a Pap smear or breast exam. Women who have a family history of cancer or experience symptoms may need to request those examinations.
"Knowing the symptoms and risk factors for ovarian cancer is vital," Smith said.
"Then a woman must advocate for her own health, often pushing doctors to help rule out ovarian cancer, instead of putting it on the back burner."
Click the link to read the full article: http://dpo.st/1DyxnM8
0 comments:
Post a Comment