If there is a diagnosis or strong suspicion of ovarian cancer, immediately go find a board certified gynecologic oncologist. This is a gynecologist who has undergone years of extra training and examinations to become board certified in the care of women with gynecologic cancers.
Even though the test itself usually leads to no harm, what you do not know about Pap smears and over-reliance on reassuring results can be severely detrimental to your health. This, in fact, can kill you. The reasons for this seemingly shocking statement and other crucial things that a smart woman should know regarding cancer prevention are the subject of this article!!
Breast cancer is a reality many women will have to deal with. Statistics show that one woman out of nine will develop breast cancer in her life. Whether it be a dear friend, a close family member or herself, every woman will be touched by breast cancer in one way or the other.
Starting from the outside, the key elements in the female reproductive system are the vulva (or outer lips), the vagina (or birth canal), the cervix (a doughnut-shaped structure that is at the entrance to the uterus), the uterus, or womb (inside which a baby grows before birth), the fallopian tubes (along which fertilised eggs travel to the uterus) and the ovaries (where the eggs and various hormones are made).
In March, we took a great trip to Arizona to celebrate my birthday. On the drive from Phoenix to Bisbee to visit friends, we marveled at the lush green desert, abloom with flowers after recent rains.
I may have run 6 marathons, the last one 7 months after surgery and chemotherapy for cervical cancer, but I am no Lance Armstrong. Lance, as many of you know, was diagnosed ten years ago with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.
It has been just over one year since I was diagnosed with cancer. Since then I have had surgery, chemotherapy, six months of lying around on the couch staring out the window at the dappled light of days yawning and stretching over the sky until the night slinked in.
Four days after I got engaged in March of this year I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The doctor said, "You have a cauliflower growth on your cervix. That's not normal. I am booking you in to see a specialist."
The cervix is part of a woman's reproductive system. Doctors cannot explain why some women develop cervical cancer while others do not. What we do know is that there are risk factors which make some women more vulnerable, to develop cervical cancer, than others.
There are four specific stages of ovarian cancer. Knowing these stages will help you to determine what your treatment options are and what symptoms to look for so you can get the upper hand on the silent killer.
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