Ovarian Cancer Is One Of The Most Common Causes Of Cancer Deaths

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Abstract:

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths from gynecologic tumors in the United States of America (Sankaranarayanan, 2006). Around the world and in certain parts and regions the statistics are doubled and more substantial within a particular ethnicity, mainly white women in industrialized countries like North America (Horner, 2010). One cannot take these findings very lightly as many women are battling this deadly disease every single day. Since the precise cause of this cancer is unknown more than 200,000 women are estimated to develop ovarian cancer every year while 100,000 die from this (SEER, 2012; Jemal, 2006). These findings need to be addressed and taken very seriously. Ovarian cancer is a worldwide phenomenon and every female deserves the right to live. Women should not have to suffer from this disease when the resources available could be obtained to prevent this cancer from the beginning. What is crucial in the survival rates of this cancer are the early stages of diagnosis (Goff, 2007). Health history, prevention and education are three key components needed in order to detect, diagnose and eliminate this disease. In order to reduce these vast numbers a proposed company called ‘Before it Happens’ will be seeking a grant and license for a minimum investment of $1 million dollars. This report will outline the necessary measures and procedures needed in order to give woman the right to live. With your funding and approval; education, early detection and prevention will be focused and forecasted as the three key components to the survival of women from ovarian cancer.

Letter of Intent:

People die of cancer every day (Parkin DM, 2001). Cancer is one of the scariest words that are associated with a negative connotation. We all know of someone that has been battling cancer, or has died from cancer, yet many people choose to ignore that it could eventually be them some day. It is fair to agree that cancer is not biased or racist and does not discriminate; it chooses any victim that it so desires. Even healthy people with no history of medical problems fall short to this deadly disease. The medical profession even acknowledges that hereditary and non-hereditary genes can get cancer, while people who have lived a non-healthy life by smoking, overweight and have a very bad history of health, can be lucky and avoid cancer all together (Piek, 2004). One can pose the question if this random chance of cancer choosing victims must be analyzed in great depth. This fear of the unknown needs to be addressed and women need to be empowered through our company ‘Before it Happens’.

In the realm of cancers, ovarian cancer is one of the silent but most fatal killers (Cannistra, 2004). Although it is less common and publicized than other cancers such as breast, ovarian cancer is growing every day and is more lethal. Ovarian cancer kills nearly three out of four late-stage patients within five years (approximately one in eight patients are under the age of 45) (Sankaranarayanan, 2006)). Screenings and testing for this cancer is very difficult and the symptoms are very vague and misinterpreted, similar to a common cold or flu - nausea, sweating and fever. The methods of early detection rates are unscrupulous and the greatest defense is proper health, understanding and spotting the danger signs before they worsen and combatting this cancer before the onset arises. Early detection is very crucial to ovarian cancer and society needs to be well educated and informed before this cancer creates a silent breeding ground in a person’s body. Therefore, our company ‘Before it Happens’, will established programs and research facilities that will promote awareness and conduct research at a first person case by case level. The key is education, early detection and prevention. Evidently, the common symptoms of ovarian cancer are always mistaken by the patients and their doctors (Goff, 2007). Doctors start to diagnose the early symptoms as indigestion or irritable bowel syndrome (Cullen, 2004; Goff, 2007). Hence, cancer tumors that have started to form are over-looked and the period of infestation and growth accelerates resulting to death. That is why awareness needs to be a priority.

Research and Grant Proposal:

Every individual is different and our bodies and health function differently. Depending on many factors every female needs to take precautionary measures in the early detections of ovarian cancer. Only 24 percent of ovarian cancers are found at an early stage while for others it is detected when the cancer has already infected the rest of the body, making treatment unsuccessful (Andersen, 2007). Moreover, for the small percentage of women who have detected the cancer at its earlier stages, the chances of recover are at 88-90 percent (Jemal, 2006). These are very crucial statistic and needs to be addressed as the reason why women need to be educated at a young age or around the time when they reach adult hood for pre-screening. Barbara Godd who is the director of gynecologic oncology at the University of Washington states that "your greatest defense against the disease is understanding your vulnerability, caring for your body, and knowing how to spot the danger signs."(Cullen, 2004). This is a powerful statement and that is why we have proposed a grant for a research and education process in a three stage venture. If a patient receives any reoccurring symptoms that are associated with ovarian cancer – bloating, abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulty eating, back pain, constipation, tiredness and weight loss, they will have the ability to take part of our study. This will be a win-win situation for them since they will help us research these symptoms, while they also get treatment for the early stages of this cancer. Depending on race and age, they will be grouped differently so that we can track the different outcomes and see the potential results. This research will be conducted on a grand scale. Every Cancer Society and doctor assessing and treating patients will be notified. Gynecologist will play a huge role because after the symptoms have been examined to be a potential risk, they will document their patient reviews and this data will be recorded on an ovarian cancer database established by ‘Before it Happens’. Huge awareness will help the patient and the public so that they do not become a fatal statistic.

"Experts agree that ovarian cancer is less common but more deadly this is because there is no screening test and most cancers are diagnosed in the advanced stage."

Dr. A Kumar, Director of the National Cancer.

Campaigns and programs need to be established in order to educate people that cancer is treatable at an early stage. Victims and survivors need to step up and programs need to be established at early stages during high school and university. Screening and checks with health records need to be monitored with potential risk patients who register on the database. This would save vast amounts of resources and health care dollars since the forefront resources will be spent on social awareness rather than surgery or treatment. Unlike breast cancer, where the awareness has hit a celebratory level and many ribbon campaigns have formed, ovarian cancers have been very silent. This is largely due to the fact that ovarian cancers deal more internally and deep inside the women’s body. The ovarian cells can start to become a breeding ground for cancer cells while the symptoms are so typical to any indigestion problem (Junor, 1999). There is a reason why 60 percent of breast cancer cases are caught early, while 60 percent of ovarian cancer cases are not diagnosed until it’s too late (Jemal, 2006; Cullen, 2004).

The second study will consist of females from early ages of 10-15 years old will be asked to take part in a study which examines their whole medical history and records. Race will be distinguished as well since studies have proven that certain races are more prone to ovarian complications (Ushijima, 2009; SEER, 2012). Studies have shown that ovarian cancer is more common among American women and white women in industrialized countries over women in India, Asia and even black women. Research and studies will be allocated to look into this specifically and to see if any potential lifesaving information can be obtained. Secondly research will be focused on family members who went through any types of cancers. They will be routinely monitored and the DOVE (Diagnosing Ovarian Cancer Early) study will play a vital role. ‘Before it Happens’ will use most of its funding to create a program with DOVE and work closely with Dr. Lucy Gilbert from McGill University of Medicine, who research and found that ovarian irregularities start in the fallopian tubes and not on the ovaries. This breakthrough study could be the turning point in the research of ovarian cancer. As Dr. Lucy states "we had the name wrong, staging wrong, and the diagnostic testing wrong. This is no wonder we have lost so many lives to this disease". She goes on to state that "One hundred and thirty-one of you may be wasting your time and wasting our time. But, one of you will have a high-grade cancer, which we can pick up early and cure…since the early symptoms of ovarian cancer are vague and mimic other conditions, the DOVE study had been taken up to develop a probability tool for detection."

Resources will be allocated on prevention component and funding is needed for research to begin. Risk reducers like birth and breast feeding have proven to drastically reduce ovarian cancer. Also birth control reduces this risk as well by 30 percent (Jensen, 2009). The National Institutes of Health indicates that limiting animal fat and eating brussel sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower can significantly reduce this disease (Bosetti C, 2002). Funding will be placed to look into this drastically. This is very important information and any reducers can help significantly.

Besides the breakthroughs in the DOVE report, the medical association has not developed the right equipment to deal with a detection method for ovarian cancer that is 100% accurate. Pap smears and mammograms are not accurate, while transvaginal ultrasound and blood tests that measure cancer proteins and estrogen are not sensitive enough to catch anything early even if checkups are done routinely (Andersen, 2007; Goff, 2007). In essence, the argument that proper screening and routine checkups is crucial to diagnosing ovarian cancer is pretty much debunked and flawed. In a 2011 ovarian cancer study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that annually screening did nothing to reduce the number of deaths from ovarian cancer (Horner, 2010; Jemal, 2006).

‘Before it Happens’ clearly knows that it takes more than education and a program established, to bring awareness for ovarian cancer. A simple phone call to your family members to see if anyone has a history of cancer or genetic abnormalities can make you eligible for pre-screening and acceptance to our program. The scientific medical community cannot predict who or what gets ovarian cancer, yet steps have been formulated to advance their technology. Since much research has been done and the facts and statistics do not lie they have tried to formulate screening strategies and vaccines to prevent ovarian cancer. Research has shown that high-risk women are not at risk for ovarian cancer rather than the average woman and that ovarian cancer is most common in women who are done menopause at the average age of 61 years old (AJN, 2009). In essence, the research based on which study or medical field you’re listening to is all different. Therefore the onus needs to go on the individual with measures taken to look at one’s personal health or look at the cancer itself. This is the main focus of ‘Before it Happens’.

The third study and where 60% of our proposed $1 million dollars will go to is a drug called Hycamtin. This is one of the first anti-cancer drugs that has proven to be affected. This drug works by changing the enzyme to replicate the human DNA. This will be the second phase study for patients who have been showing high signs of symptoms and maybe at the earlier onsets of ovarian cancer. They will maintain a healthy diet and low body fat mass since high fat cells are an increased risk for ovarian cancer (Bosetti, 2001). Although routine checkups are not accurate, the ones with extreme symptoms will undergo surgery for an in-depth look at the abdomen and ovaries. This study will take into consideration hereditary genetics since 10 percent of cases are hereditary (Piek, 2004). Blood work and blood tests for genetic mutation will be assessed and compared with studies and research from prior patients. If the history in one’s family is high, the more in-depth will we screen the patient.

The final and most serious test stage will be to detect and diagnose ovarian cancer through surgical and microscopic procedures within the ovaries. This is the only way to detect for sure, rather than symptoms and speculations (Junor, 1999). The grant of $1 million dollar’s will help set up facilities that use special test subjects that have passed all the initial stages. This will be the absolute last resort since examinations need to be done with high medical council approval from ‘Before it Happens’ board of directors. Blood work will be very crucial and positive blood and genetic malfunctions will be scrutinized for 5 years. The statistics to post ovarian cancer patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer are very high (Parkin, 2001). Nothing can be done since the cancer has already spread. Statistics wise, the chance of living after this onset is 20-25 percent chance of survival (SEER, 2012). ‘Before it Happens’ main goal and objective is to prevent this and make this statistic attainable.

In summary, the above recommendations and proposals are needed in order to determine the advancement’s in the field of ovarian cancer. By studying and researching these particular groups and issues, we will solve a problem that is killing women across the world every day. Although it will not be cheap, a proposed $1 million dollar is only the initial phases to what is needed for this great epidemic. More funding will be needed in order to create an antidote that can reverse the effects of ovarian cancer. Dr Amita Maheshwari, Associate Professor of Gynaecologic Oncology, states that early detection is important and, "sadly, there are no cost-effective screening tests for ovarian cancer." I rest my case unto the panel in this short report and proposal. Thank you for reading and understanding ‘Before it Happens’.