Irregular Periods? You May Want to Get an Early Screening

Irregular periods can cause a lot of problems for women, but a new study suggests that they may also indicate an increased risk for ovarian cancer. An article from WebMD.com explains that women will irregular periods, including those with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCS), may benefit from early screening for ovarian cancer.

According to lead study author Barbara Cohn, director of child health and development studies at the Public Health Institute in Berkeley, California, "Ninety percent of women who get ovarian cancer don't have risk factors for it. Our study findings help to narrow the search. If we can confirm what we have here and can learn more about the mechanism behind ovarian cancer, then we might be able to do something as simple as recommend birth control pills for women with irregular periods, provided they have no other risk factors against birth control pill use.”

Cohn’s study involved more than 14,000 women who were part of the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan in Alameda, Califorinia, between the years of 1959 and 1967. Researchers tracked the women's health over the next 50 years or until death, whichever came first. All of the women had at least one child, and none of them used fertility drugs to conceive. Researchers concluded that women with irregular cycles had an increased risk of ovarian cancer death that was 2.4 times higher than women who had normal cycles.

Unfortunately, the study design wasn't able to show that irregular periods caused either ovarian cancer itself or an increased risk for it, only that the two were associated.

Read the full article at WebMD.com.

Prostate and Ovarian Cancer Combated By…Ginger?

Many cultures across many places and times have considered a diet rich in ginger to have health benefits and to cure ails such as flu, hangover, colds, and more.

"Now science has an answer why. According to the research team of the University of Michigan, ginger may be an answer for prostate and ovarian cancer. Ginger contains bioactive phenolic compounds and non-volatile pungent compounds – gingerols, paradols, shogaols and gingerones. The gingerols and phytochemicals are available compounds in abundance in the fresh ginger root. The researchers add in their study that the ginger displays a role of an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer. They mention that fruits and vegetables must be eaten along with ginger every day in order to help reducing the risk of cancer.

The study procedure was by feeding mice with tumors for 8 weeks. The tumors were significantly reduced during that period of time, by having a tumor ‘cell suicide’ when came in contact with the compound. Natural Society adds that this kind of ‘suicide’ happens when cancer cells react to the ginger, they attack each other. The experiment was repeated three times and the results were always the same. In the study, it was also measured body toxicity, and the results were that ginger doesn’t display any toxic behavior, even if taken in high doses.

According to Natural Society, the results of the study were presented in a session with the American Association for Cancer Research, stating that in just eight weeks 56% of the prostate cancer cells were killed, leaving the healthy prostate cells alone. The American Cancer Society admitted – more than 15% of men, and more than 20,000 American women will be diagnosed with cancer this year. But ginger may be an answer for prostate and ovarian cancer, and expensive chemo treatments may not be needed in the future."

The verdict is still out on exactly if and how an increased intake of ginger can combat cancerous cells in humans, but the possibility holds serious potential.

Ovarian cancer patient not only survives, but thrives

She may have faced stage III ovarian cancer at one time in her life, but Gwen Ammos, 51, doesn’t allow herself to dwell in the past. In fact, she is a marathon runner, an ice hockey player, and a medical volunteer in Nepal. Learn more about this astonishing woman from Chestnut Hill Local:

Gwenn Amos, 51, a Renaissance woman who lives in Ambler, somehow finds enough time in the same 24-hour day we all have to cram in numerous passions and skills. Amos, a Doctor of Optometry who works for The Eye Institute in Chestnut Hill, is also an assistant professor at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Elkins Park, a musician (drummer), a marathon runner, a five-year survivor of stage III ovarian cancer, a public health expert (Master’s degree) who has volunteered her services in the mountain villages of Nepal, a church volunteer, an ice hockey team member who has scrimmaged with former players from the Philadelphia Flyers, and a soon-to-be certified Emergency Medical Technician. It would take a book to encompass all of her accomplishments, but we will try to condense it into a two-part series of articles:

Local: Where did you grow up and attend high school?

Amos: I grew up in Warminster, Bucks County, and attended William Tennent High School. I have a B.A. from Temple University in biology.

Local: What made you want to pursue a career as an optometrist and public health worker?

Amos: I was interested in pursuing a career in the medical field but didn’t want to be “married” to my career. My interest in public health developed after participating in several eye camps in developing nations including Nepal, South Africa and several countries in South/Central America. Often patients and their families go to great lengths and may travel for days to attend a screening. Of course they bring great hope with them. I wanted to learn how to plan and implement programs whereby our eye camps would make a more significant impact on at least a fraction of patients we can expect to come with the expectation that they can be helped to see better via cataract extraction. Additionally, there are many systemic diseases that have ocular manifestations such as diabetes and hypertension. So only providing eye screening without having a referral system in place for treatment of other diseases that are detected during an eye examination can be somewhat frustrating. (Dr. Amos earned her Masters in Public Health in 2009 from Arcadia U. in Glenside.)

Local: Why did you go to Nepal?

Amos: I have been to several villages in the mountains of Nepal. It is absolutely beautiful there. From a distance you can see how completely the people have terraced every bit of the mountain to grow corn and rice. I was there in 2001 and again in 2005, and we are planning another eye camp for November of this year, or perhaps spring of next year. These two trips were coordinated by a group called Pennsylvania United Medical Association (PUMA). Steve Simpson, the founder of PUMA, has done an amazing job first establishing an orphanage in Kathmandu, which has since grown to two homes, one for boys and one for girls. Additionally, he has, with the help of a strong and dedicated crew in Nepal in conjunction with teams from the U.S., built many health clinics and churches for people in remote villages. PUMA sends medical personnel to train local Nepalis in what we would consider basic health care. Did you know that there are more people in the world with access to cell phones than access to toothbrushes?

Local: What are conditions like in Nepal?

Amos: There is no running water in the villages and no electricity. You don’t need an alarm, especially if you’re sleeping in the same room with a chicken. He’ll know when to awaken you! The children just cling to you and don’t want to leave your side. I was really struck by this on the first trip until someone so clearly explained that “they don’t have things, but they have each other.” So, I quickly adapted to traveling with an entourage and tried to think of games we could play where we didn’t need to speak the same language. There is an amazing maturity among children of even a very young age. Children at the homes are taught early to clean up after themselves. At the age of even 3, they wash their own plate and have chores like sweeping the floors after meal time. There is virtually no-to-very limited health care in the villages. A trip to Nepal is approximately two weeks because of the flight time and the hiking time to and from one or two villages. This would be considered a very short-term trip.

Local: What do you do in your leisure time, if you have any?

Amos: Right now I don’t have much leisure time at all. I’m really quite a bore about studying and practicing for EMT (her Emergency Medical Technician certification). It’s important for me to attend church, and I volunteer in the audio/visual department. Walking and running are always good for helping get problems worked out in one’s mind and are healthy for the body. I enjoy both as well as gardening. Drum lessons are on hold right now, which I’m sure pleases the neighbors. In April of 2012 I completed the Gettysburg North-South Marathon, and next month will be the five-year anniversary of being diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. As the Bible says, life is like a vapor. Anytime we have an opportunity to be the hands or feet of the Lord to others, that is our service to Him.

For more information about Dr. Amos, email gamos@salus.edu or call 215-276-6158.

Beating the Odds

Her husband beats an opponent every time he is on the court.  However, LA Basketball Wives star Brandi Maxiell fought the toughest opponent yet and came out on top.  Brandi is on this season of Basketball Wives LA.  She has learned a lot since her battle with cancer.  Read her interview from OK Magazine below.

Joining the cast of Basketball Wives LA might be intimidating for some women, but no on-screen cat fights can come close to the battle cast member Brandi Maxiell fought with ovarian cancer when she was just 24 years old.

Married to NBA player Jason Maxiell, Brandi joins the cast this season to speak out on behalf of ovarian cancer survivors and also share her quest to have a second child. With the American Cancer Society predicting 21, 980 women will receive a new diagnosis in 2014 alone, OK! chats with the outspoken reality star on how she overcame this vicious disease.

OK!: What made you want to join Basketball Wives LA in the first place?
Brandi Maxiell: What made me want to join the show was to talk about my experience with ovarian cancer and bring awareness to that and also be there to help my friend out because she was on the show as well, Malaysia Pargo.

OK!: What was the biggest lesson you learned from your cancer battle?
BM:  I was 24, had just graduated from college and I was thinking I was about to start my life with my fiancé, now husband. I wanted to have fun and let my hair down and go crazy. I’m way more humble than I ever was before. I don’t take things so seriously. I’ve learned to enjoy life, take it in, breathe it in and take it all one day at a time, rather than taking life for granted. Anybody that has cancer, you look at it as a death sentence automatically, just to overcome it I made a vow to myself to not take anything for granted and love my family and embrace life.

OK!: How did you learn about your diagnosis?
BM: I remember it was the summer of 07 and the whole summer I was complaining that my back hurt and stuff like that. My doctor was like, “Oh it’s nothing.” I remember I was living with my fiancé and l noticed my stomach was getting bigger and bigger and bigger. It looked as if I was six months pregnant. I took a million pregnancy tests and I was like, “There’s no way in the world I’m pregnant.” When I would lay down I would see my stomach would shift. I would have to go to the bathroom every five seconds. Sometimes I wouldn’t even make it to the toilet. Something was not right. I would take one bite of anything and I was immediately full.  I went through all of these tests and blood work and they said, “More than likely you have cancer.” No one in my family has cancer, how can that be? It was terrible.

OK!: What advice would you give women as far as looking out for any troubling signs something is wrong?
BM: What I can say is I’m very blessed and fortunate that I had every symptom there is. It was like: Bloating, check. This, check. That, check. I had every symptom. As a woman you have to take care of yourself and any sign you feel that’s going on with your body, go to the doctor as soon as possible. If they deny you or blow you off, you need to go to another doctor. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer. Eight out of 10 (times) you’ve caught it too late. I was blessed and fortunate enough to catch it in time. Ovarian cancer is like an over 50 cancer and I was 24.

OK!: Once you found out you beat cancer, what’s the first thing you did?
BM: I had a party! I don’t know if I should be saying this but I had a party. I went and let loose. Me and my husband and my friends and the other NBA wives that were with the Detroit Pistons, we all went out. We had drinks. Because I didn’t drink (while in treatment), I was doing everything right. So I let everything go. We partied all night long. It was a celebration time for me. It was a celebration of life. I was free.

Ovarian Cancer – Detection and Early Signs

It has often been called “The Silent Killer.” In the early, most manageable stages the symptoms of ovarian cancer are vague and difficult to recognize. Because many of the symptoms afflicting women at risk are commonly attributed to other ailments, many patients and physicians have trouble distinguishing between a possible sign of cancer and less-dangerous conditions. Often this overlap leads to a diagnosis in a much later stage of the condition, greatly decreasing options for treatment.  This article from cancer.org sheds some light on some possible signs patients need to be aware of.

Ovarian cancer may cause several signs and symptoms. Women are more likely to have symptoms if the disease has spread beyond the ovaries, but even early stage ovarian cancer can cause them. The most common symptoms include:

·         Bloating

·         Pelvic or abdominal pain

·         Trouble eating or feeling full quickly

·         Urinary symptoms such as urgency (always feeling like you have to go) or frequency (having to go often)

These symptoms are also commonly caused by benign (non-cancerous) diseases and by cancers of other organs. When they are caused by ovarian cancer, they tend to be persistent and represent a change from normal − for example, they occur more often or are more severe. If a woman has these symptoms almost daily for more than a few weeks, she should see her doctor, preferably a gynecologist.

Others symptoms of ovarian cancer can include:

·         Fatigue

·         Upset stomach

·         Back pain

·         Pain during sex

·         Constipation

·         Menstrual changes

·         Abdominal swelling with weight loss

However, these symptoms are more likely to be caused by other conditions, and most of them occur just about as often in women who don’t have ovarian cancer.

Physical exam

Your doctor will first take your history and do a physical exam to look for signs of ovarian cancer. These include finding an enlarged ovary (on a pelvic exam) and signs of fluid in the abdomen (which is called ascites).

If there is reason to suspect you have ovarian cancer based on your symptoms and/or physical exam, your doctor will order some tests to check further.

Consultation with a specialist

If your pelvic exam or other tests suggest that you have ovarian cancer, you will need a doctor or surgeon who specializes in treating women with this type of cancer. A gynecologic oncologist is an obstetrician/gynecologist who is specially trained in treating cancers of the female reproductive system. Treatment by a gynecologic oncologist helps ensure that you get the best kind of surgery for your cancer. It has also has been shown to help patients with ovarian cancer live longer. Anyone suspected of having ovarian cancer should see this type of specialist prior to surgery.

Though the warning signs of ovarian cancer may not be readily apparent, having a good idea of what signals to look out for will greatly increase your chances for early detection. If you experience any of the above symptoms for longer than two weeks, talk to you doctor.

Vitamin C helps destroy ovarian cancer cells and alleviate chemotherapy symptoms

If you find out you have the BRCA gene, do not think that surgery is your only option.  There are many ways to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.  Research has found that breast feeding, birth control pills, and having fallopian tubes tied all may help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.  Learn more in the article below and always remember to talk with your doctor before making any decisions.  You can learn more here.

Breast-feeding, birth control pills and having fallopian tubes tied may help reduce ovarian cancer risk in women with BRCA gene mutations, a new review suggests.

Women with BRCA gene mutations are at increased risk for breast and ovarian cancers. These findings suggest ways that women with these inherited mutations can reduce their ovarian cancer risk without having their ovaries surgically removed, the University of Pennsylvania researchers said.

“Patients deserve better cancer-risk reduction options than surgically removing their healthy breasts and ovaries,” review co-author Dr. Susan Domchek, executive director of the Basser Research Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, said in a university news release.

Domchek and her colleagues reviewed 44 studies and found that breast-feeding and tubal ligation were associated with lower rates of ovarian cancer in women with a BRCA1 mutation, while the use of birth control pills was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer in women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

The researchers also identified factors that may increase the risk of cancer in women with BRCA mutations. For example, smoking may heighten the risk of breast cancer in women with a BRCA 2 mutation.

The findings are to be published in the June issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

“Our analysis reveals that heredity is not destiny, and that working with their physicians and counselors, women with BRCA mutations can take proactive steps that may reduce their risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer,” lead author Timothy Rebbeck, professor of epidemiology and cancer epidemiology and risk reduction program leader at the Abramson Cancer Center, said in the news release.

“The results of the analysis show that there is already sufficient information indicating how some variables might affect the risk of cancer for these patients,” he added.

About 39 percent of women with a harmful BRCA1 mutation and up to 17 percent of those with a harmful BRCA2 mutation will develop ovarian cancer by age 70, compared with 1.4 percent of women in the general population.

Between 55 percent and 65 percent of women with a harmful BRCA1 mutation and 45 percent of women with a harmful BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70, compared with about 12 percent of women in the general population.

Both BRCA mutations have also been linked with increased risk for several other types of cancer, according to the researchers.

“It’s imperative that we continue examining and building upon past research in this area so that we can provide BRCA mutation carriers with options at every age, and at every stage of their lives,” Domchek noted.

New Study Reveals That Family History of Cancer Is Not Sufficient For Disease Screening

When people talk about ovarian cancer diagnoses, it is usually the case that a family history of the disease propelled women to get screened to see if they had it themselves. Unfortunately, a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveals that a family history of the disease is not at all sufficient for determining your own chances of getting ovarian cancer.

Researchers studied 429 women with ovarian cancer, “without regard to whether the women had family histories of breast cancer, ovarian cancer or rare cancer syndromes, all of which can increase the odds of developing ovarian tumors. The women ranged in age from 26 to 89, and 90 percent were Caucasian.” Their findings were striking: 1 in 5 women has an inherited predisposition to ovarian cancer, with a total of 222 inherited genetic variants identified that increase the risk of developing the disease.

As senior author Li Ding, PhD, assistant director at The Genome Institute at the School of Medicine and a research member of Siteman Cancer Center, explains, “Using advanced genomic analysis, we found that 20 percent of women with ovarian cancer had inherited mutations in a gene pathway known to be important in inherited breast and ovarian cancer. That number seems pretty high. This tells us that we need to find better ways to screen women for ovarian cancer, even if they don’t have family histories of the disease.”

Read the full study at the Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom.