Shaking off the shadow of ovarian cancer.

• Author: Klebanow, Diana
• Position: Medicine & Health

ABOUT ONE IN EVERY 57 women in the U.S. will have ovarian cancer at some point in her life, according to statistics from the National Cancer Institute. Each year, approximately 22,000 individuals are diagnosed with the disease, and more than half of them will die from it. Ovarian cancer ranks as the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths (after lung, breast, and colon) for American women, and is the most deadly form of gynecological cancer. There only has been a slight decline in death rates from this disease in the past 50 years. The exact causes have yet to be determined completely. However, it manifests itself when certain cells within the ovaries become abnormal, then divide rapidly. These cancer cells can invade the surrounding tissue and metastasize, spreading to other parts of the body.

This information became an obsession to me after I was classified as high risk since my sister--suddenly and out of nowhere--was found to have ovarian cancer. In the course of two terrible weeks, she (following vaginal bleeding) had been diagnosed with endometrial cancer and underwent surgery. During the procedure, her surgeon discovered an ovarian tumor, which was diagnosed as malignant. However, both cancers were at stage one--the lowest risk category for recurrence. The endometrial cancer apparently posed no threat to my sister's chances of survival; the ovarian cancer was another story. Ovarian cancer has few symptoms, and (unlike in my sister's case) usually is not detected until it has reached an advanced stage.

In the aftermath of my sister's ordeal, I was aware that her illness probably placed me in a higher risk category for cancer. It was a problem I preferred not to face at the time, but had to. On the second of my daily visits to my sister in the hospital, I met her surgeon during rounds. The next day, my sister gave me a blunt message from him: ovarian cancer runs in families and I needed to have my ovaries removed.

Her surgeon may have been correct about the advice, but wrong if he thought he would acquire another patient in the family. I quickly made an appointment to see my own gynecologist. In addition to being my trusted physician for 20 years, he--by an uncanny coincidence--is one of the leading authorities on ovarian cancer in the country. We spoke about my sister's case and he calmly advised me to have my ovaries removed--a procedure known as a prophylactic oophorectomy. It could be done by video laparoscopy, making it less...