[Anteup]

So sorry about your SIL.

I've lost a ton of weight over the last few year but no diagnosis (and I've been to plenty of doctors). I eat like crazy but I'm thin. I'm thin enough that when I asked my SO last weekend if I looked ill, he wouldn't answer. Doctors can't find anything wrong.

Alabama, you could be gluten sensitive. Its very hard to be diagnosed with "sensitivity" but random weight loss is classic. Try going gluten free for a month.

[BabyGoose]

I wonder if adding a transvaginal ultrasound to yearly exams would help detect it earlier?

My SIL is barely staying awake now. They have her so heavily drugged with pain need, but she is still suffering. My MIL said she looks 7 months pregnant, yet she has lost 17 lbs.


I pray that God calls her home sooner rather then later.

I am so sorry Freebird.

Yes, I firmly believe that adding transvaginal ultrasound to yearly exams would help with early detection. As far as I know, that is about the only reliable way to detect ovarian cancer in te early stages. I wish it would be viewed as mammograms and paid for by insurance companies as part of a yearly exam, at the very least, for women over 40.

[alabama]

Alabama, you could be gluten sensitive. Its very hard to be diagnosed with "sensitivity" but random weight loss is classic. Try going gluten free for a month.

Would that mean giving up bread? I've heard of the gluten free diet but don't really know much about it.

Freebird, your SIL's situation is awful. What a terrible thing to happen - even worse this time of the year.

[Freebird!]

Thanks. They moved her to Hospice care yesterday, and are telling the kids the news, now, as I type this. I am beyond heart broken for this sweet family.

[Pocket Pony]

I'm so sorry, Freebird.

[wendy]

Going to your gynecologist every year isn't going to help you avoid ovarian cancer- nothing the ob/gyn does at a routine exam will detect ovarian cancer.

In fact, there's a lot of evidence to suggest that there isn't any kind of early, easily treatable form of ovarian cancer that could be detected by screening. Some cancers, like breast or ovarian cancer, develop very slowly, taking years to change from normal tissue to abnormal tissue to mildly cancerous tissue, and thus it's relatively easy to detect and treat early forms of these diseases. But there's little evidence to suggest that happens with ovarian cancer- some studies find it transforms directly from normal tissue to deadly malignant disease practically overnight. Thus LOOKING for early forms of it are, possibly, pointless. If you get it, it's probably too late from day one.
Luckily ovarian cancer is quite rare- very deadly, but doesn't affect very many women at all.


Pap smears have nothing to do with ovarian cancer.
The decision to only have a Pap smear every three years instead of every year has nothing to do with "funding and cutbacks and government" but is all about good science. It's best for YOU as a woman to only get a Pap smear every three years. The primary effect of getting a yearly Pap smear is lots and lots of false-positive findings, which means then that YOU get scared, and YOU have to go in for repeated tests, and possibly for unnecessary treatments. None of which does YOU or YOUR HEALTH any good. Every three years is often enough to detect the real cases of cancer that need treatment while cutting way back on the false-positive test results.

[Marshfield]

Hugs for your family, Freebird. May your SIL be at peace soon. Many hugs for the kids she's leaving behind.

[Marshfield]

My understanding was that improvements in the Pap smear, aka the "thin prep" method meant that getting a Pap every three years is adequate. My doctors still recommend an annual pelvic exam, but go every three for the Pap.

Unfortunately, from what I've always been told, ovarian cancer doesn't have much in the way of signs until things are bad. In some women, it is mistakend for IBD.

[FalseImpression]

Leena did not get a diagnosis for a long time either and she was under doctor's care for the symptoms.
Freebird, it is going too fast! I am thinking of her and family and sending the most positive vibes I can muster.

[Freebird!]

She is with Jesus and my husband now. They had just moved her to Hospice last night. I am rejoicing that she is fully healed, but my heart is breaking for the pain I know my BIL and those kids are going through.

This is a picture taken just last winter: https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2664723_n.jpg

[Alagirl]

She is with Jesus and my husband now. They had just moved her to Hospice last night. I am rejoicing that she is fully healed, but my heart is breaking for the pain I know my BIL and those kids are going through.

This is a picture taken just last winter: https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2664723_n.jpg

My hearts go out to your family.
Many prayers.

[EqTrainer]

no words. What a beautiful family.

[Lady Eboshi]

Going to your gynecologist every year isn't going to help you avoid ovarian cancer- nothing the ob/gyn does at a routine exam will detect ovarian cancer.

In fact, there's a lot of evidence to suggest that there isn't any kind of early, easily treatable form of ovarian cancer that could be detected by screening. Some cancers, like breast or ovarian cancer, develop very slowly, taking years to change from normal tissue to abnormal tissue to mildly cancerous tissue, and thus it's relatively easy to detect and treat early forms of these diseases. But there's little evidence to suggest that happens with ovarian cancer- some studies find it transforms directly from normal tissue to deadly malignant disease practically overnight. Thus LOOKING for early forms of it are, possibly, pointless. If you get it, it's probably too late from day one.
Luckily ovarian cancer is quite rare- very deadly, but doesn't affect very many women at all.


Pap smears have nothing to do with ovarian cancer.
The decision to only have a Pap smear every three years instead of every year has nothing to do with "funding and cutbacks and government" but is all about good science. It's best for YOU as a woman to only get a Pap smear every three years. The primary effect of getting a yearly Pap smear is lots and lots of false-positive findings, which means then that YOU get scared, and YOU have to go in for repeated tests, and possibly for unnecessary treatments. None of which does YOU or YOUR HEALTH any good. Every three years is often enough to detect the real cases of cancer that need treatment while cutting way back on the false-positive test results.

If you're highly motivated to avoid ALL forms of cancer, eliminate 100% of sugar in all its forms, and most high GI starches, from your diet. High blood glucose is the preferred fuel of cancer; and there is some evidence that cancer is the body's desperate last-ditch attempt to sequester blood glucose once insulin gets overwhelmed. I am not making this up--it is a promising line of inquiry right now at Sloan-Kettering. Sugar also suppresses the immune system, which may allow mutated cells to multiply instead of being immediately killed by the body's defenses. There is a great deal of evidence for this; pity it isn't better publicized!

Please accept my condolences.

[Come Shine]

My condolences. How very sad.

[FalseImpression]

OMG. This was way too fast for her family, maybe not for her if she was in pain. But I can't believe she is gone already and they just told the children ... yesterday? Poor kids.. I am so sorry!
I will be thinking of you and her family. Beautiful people!

[rothmpp]

I worked with a man a couple of years ago whose wife went to the ER one evening and was gone less than 24 hours later. It is incredibly scary how fast and silent ovarian cancer can be.

Condolences to your family Freebird.

[ThreeFigs]

Sincere condolences, Freebird, to you and your family. What a beautiful photo of them all together! What a heartbreaker....

[Perfect Pony]

I am so sorry.

[Lin]

I am so so sorry for your loss.

[SmartAlex]

I am sorry for your loss