I'm sorry for this off-topic post, but please read it.  I'm not after money
or anything like that...only a moment of your time.  I PROMISE this is NOT
one of those "pass this on to as many people as you can, so little Cindy can
afford a brain transplant" messages.

My mother was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  For those of you not
familiar with the disease, it is what ended the lives of Gilda Radner,
Jessica Tandy and thousands of other women every year.  In fact, ovarian
cancer is the number one cause of death from gynocological cancer.

Ovarian cancer is often described as a "silent" killer, as it typically only
produces symptoms late in the disease process...often too late.  Some signs
of the disease are distended (swollen) abdomen, persistant indigestion,
frequent urination or urge to urinate (my mother was wondering if she had
diabetes because she was urinating so much.)  There are other symptoms
listed on the web pages below, so please follow those links.

If ovarian cancer is caught EARLY, the prognosis is EXCELLENT so PLEASE have
yourself (or a loved one) checked out a soon as possible.  A pap smear will
not show ovarian cancer and blood work is no predictor (my mother's tests
were perfect.)  A THOUROUGH full-pelvic exam and an ultrasound that is
specifically looking for this condition are the best tests that I know of.

Often, this disease is misdiagnosed (as in Gilda Radner's case) so don't be
fooled.  It mimics a common ovarian cyst and it's symptoms are generic
enough (heartburn, fullness after a light meal, bloating, etc.) to be
dismissed by all but a trained professional (see a gynocologist, not just
your family doctor.)

Women aged 55 to 59 are the most affected, but women over sixty are most at
risk...BUT this disease can strike any woman of ANY AGE.  Ovarian cancer
typically only strikes one in seventy women (recent studies say 1 in 55),
but those numbers drop to one in twenty (or worse) if there is a family
history of ovarian or colon (yes, colon) cancer...my mother's mother had
colon cancer but NO ONE mentioned this connection to my mother!  Please read
the web pages for more details on this.

Fortunately, my mother's cancer was caught early, before it spread
throughout the abdomen (we're still waiting on the microscopic biopsies,
though.)  So please say a prayer for those who've been stricken with this
and other terrible diseases...that's all I ask.  My mother's name is Diana,
in case you want to know.  Thank you for reading this, please spread the
word...and God Bless!!!

http://my.webmd.com/content/dmk/dmk_article_5963013

http://my.webmd.com/content/dmk/dmk_article_57892

http://my.webmd.com/content/dmk/dmk_article_5461688

http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/specialty/gyn_onc/ovarian/

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=ovarian+cancer&n=25

http://www.ovariancancer.org/

http://www.ovariancanada.org/

http://www.oncologychannel.com/ovariancancer/staging.shtml