Come on, folks... It takes about as long to plug "Ovarian Cancer" or "CA-125" into Google to find out that the email is a hoax as it does to hit the forward button. I know UTC isn't a research institute, but it does help to do a little just to make sure you don't come across as a fool.

see http://www.snopes.com/toxins/ca125.htm

-----Original Message-----
From: Mal Long <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] 
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 15:20:36 -0400
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] FW: Eye Opener on Ovarian Cancer



-




>
> >Subject: Eye Opener on Ovarian Cancer
> >
> >
> >Women:  A must read
> >Men:  Please pass on to women you know
> >
> >Even if you have had a total hysterectomy, please read this..and
> >send it on to your friends!
> >Subject: Eye opener on Ovarian Cancer....
> >
> >I hope you all take the time to read this and pass it on to all you
> >can.  Send this to the women in your life that you care about.
> >
> >Years ago, Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer. Her symptoms were
> >inconclusive, and she was treated for everything under the sun until
> >it was too late. This blood test finally identified her illness but
alas,
> >too late. She wrote a book to heighten awareness. Gene Wilder is
> >her widower.
> >
> >KATHY'S STORY: this is the story of Kathy West
> >
> >Kathy writes,  I have Primary Peritoneal Cancer. This cancer has
> >only recently been identified as its OWN type of cancer, but it is
> >essentially  Ovarian Cancer.
> >
> >Both types of cancer are diagnosed in the same way, with the
> >"tumor marker" CA-125 BLOOD TEST, and they are treated in the
> >same way - surgery to remove the primary tumor and then
> >chemotherapy with Taxol and Carboplatin.
> >
> >Having gone through this ordeal, I want to save others from the
> >same fate. That  is why I am sending this message to you and
> >hope you will print it and give it or  send it via E-mail to everybody
> >you know. One thing I have learned is that each  of us must take
> >TOTAL responsibility for our own health care.
> >
> >I thought I had  done that because I always had an annual physical and
> >PAP smear, did a  monthly Self-Breast Exam, went to the dentist at least
> >twice a year,  etc. I even insisted on a sigmoidoscopy and a bone
density
> >test last year.
> >
> >When I had a  total hysterectomy in 1993, I thought that I did not have
to
> >worry about getting  any of the female reproductive organ cancers.
> >
> >LITTLE DID I KNOW. I don't have ovaries (and they were HEALTHY when
> >they  were removed), but I have what is essentially ovarian cancer.
> >Strange, isn't it?
> >
> >These are just SOME of the things our Doctors never tell us:
> >ONE out of every  55 women will get OVARIAN or
> >PRIMARY PERITONEAL CANCER.
> >The "CLASSIC" symptoms are an ABDOMEN that rather
> >SUDDENLY ENLARGES and CONSTIPATION and/or DIARRHEA.
> >
> >I had these classic symptoms and went to the doctor. Because these
> >symptoms seemed to be "abdominal", I went to a gastroenterologist. He
> >ran tests that were designed to determine whether there was a bacteria
> >infection; these tests were negative, and I was diagnosed with
> >"Irritable Bowel Syndrome". I guess I  would have accepted this
> >diagnosis had it not been for my enlarged abdomen. I swear it looked
> >like I was 4-5 months pregnant!
> >
> >I therefore insisted on more tests. They took an X-ray of my abdomen;
> >it was negative.
> >I was again assured that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and was
> >encouraged to go on my scheduled month-long trip to Europe. I couldn't
> >wear any of  my  slacks or shorts because I couldn't get  them buttoned,
> >and I KNEW something was radically wrong. I INSISTED on more  tests,
> >and they (reluctantly) scheduled me for a CT-Scan (just to shut me up, I
> >think).
> >
> >This is what I mean by "taking charge of our own health care."
> >The CT-Scan showed a lot of fluid in my abdomen (NOT normal).
> >Needless to say,  I had to cancel my trip and have FIVE POUNDS of fluid
> >drained off at the hospital (not a pleasant procedure, I assure you),
but
> >NOTHING compared to what was ahead of me).  Tests revealed
> >cancer cells in the fluid.
> >
> >Finally, finally, finally, the doctor ran a CA-125 blood test, and I was
> >properly  diagnosed.
> >
> >I HAD THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS FOR OVARIAN CANCER, AND YET THIS
> >SIMPLE CA-125 BLOOD TEST HAD NEVER BEEN RUN ON ME,
> >not as part of my annual physical exam and not when I was symptomatic.
> >This is an inexpensive and simple blood test!
> >
> >PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO
> >INSIST ON A CA-125 BLOOD TEST EVERY YEAR AS PART OF THEIR
> >ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMS.
> >
> >Be forewarned that their doctors might try to talk them out of it,
saying,
> >"IT ISN'T NECESSARY."  Believe me, had I known then what I know now, we
> >would have caught my cancer much earlier (before it was a stage 3
cancer).
> >Insist on the CA-125 BLOOD TEST; DO NOT take "NO" for an answer!
> >The normal range for a CA-125 BLOOD TEST is between zero and 35.
> >MINE WAS 754.  (That's right, 754!).  If the number is slightly above
35,
> >you can have another done in three or six months and keep a close eye
> >on it, just as women do when they have fibroid tumors or when men have
> >a slightly elevated PSA test (Prostatic Specific Antigens) that helps
> >diagnose prostate cancer.
> >
> >Having the CA-125 test done annually can alert you early, and that's
> >the goal in diagnosing any type of cancer -- catching it early.
> >Do you know 55 women?  If so, at least one of them will have this
> >VERY AGGRESIVE cancer.  Please, go to your doctor and insist on a
> >CA-125 test and have one EVERY YEAR for the rest of your life.
> >
> >And forward this message to every woman you know, and tell all of
> >your female family members and friends. Though the median age for this
> >cancer is 56, (and, guess what, I'm exactly 56), women as young as 22
> >have it.  Age is no factor.
> >
> >A NOTE FROM THE RN:
> >Well, after reading this, I made some calls. I found that the CA-125
> >test is an ovarian screening test equivalent to a man's PSA test
prostrate
> >screen (which my husband's doctor automatically gives him in his
physical
> >each year and insurance pays for it). I called the general
practitioner's
> >office about having the test done.  The nurse had never heard of it.
She
> >told me that she doubted that insurance would pay for it.  So I called
> >Prudential Insurance Co., and got the  same response. Never heard
> >of it -- it won't be covered.  I explained that it was the same as the
> >PSA test they had paid for my husband for years.
> >After conferring with whomever they confer with, she told me that
> >the CA-125 would be covered.
> >
> >It is $75 in a GP's office and $125 at the GYN's. This is a screening
test
> >that should be required just like a PAP smear (a PAP smear cannot detect
> >problems with your ovaries).  And you must insist that your insurance
> >company pay for it.
> >
> >Gene Wilder and Pierce Brosnan (his wife had it, too) are lobbying
> >for women's health issues, saying that this test should be required
> >in our physicals, just like the PAP and the mammogram.
> >
> >PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SEND THIS OUT TO ALL THOSE YOU CAN.
> >BE IT MALE OR FEMALE, IT SHOULD NOT MATTER, AS THEY CAN
> >FORWARD IT ALSO TO THOSE LOVED ONES THEY KNOW.
> >
> >IF YOU ARE HESITANT ABOUT FORWARDING SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT
> >AS THIS, HERE'S A LITTLE HINT THAT MAY ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR
> >DECISION ~ JUST PRETEND THAT THIS IS A JOKE, WHICH IT CERTAINLY IS
> >NOT, AND SEND IT OUT TO ALL THE FOLKS YOU WOULD IF IT WAS. THANKS.


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