Raising Awareness of Ovarian Cancer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 2, 2009) -- Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear will host a luncheon in Frankfort on Sept. 9 to commemorate National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The keynote speaker will be Dr. John R. van Nagell, director of gynecologic oncology at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, who heads the UK Ovarian Cancer Screening Program.  The luncheon is sponsored by the nationwide Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Several state legislators and public health officials are expected to attend.

UK's Ovarian Cancer Screening Program is the only program of its kind in the United States. Around 15,000 women are screened each year, free of charge, at six locations throughout the state. It began in 1987, when Virginia McCandless, then president of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association (KEHA), was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her struggle became KEHA's cause, in partnership with local businesses statewide. Today, the program is supported through a combination of research grants, state funding, and donations to KEHA.

So far, the program has identified over 400 ovarian tumors and 61 cases of ovarian cancer, the majority of which are early stage.  Survival of patients with ovarian cancer detected through screening is nearly 80 percent, roughly double that of patients who did not have screening.

"Ovarian cancer is very curable if it is caught in its early stages," van Nagell said. "That's why screening is important. Most women with ovarian cancer are not diagnosed until they have advanced disease where treatment is more difficult, and the chance of survival is limited. Screening improves detection of ovarian cancer at a stage when it is curable.”

For more information about the UK Ovarian Cancer Screening Program or to make an appointment, please call toll free 1-800-766-8279 or (859) 323-4687. Donations to support the screening program may be made to: KEHA Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, c/o Marena Nelson, 961 Stephens Branch Road, Martin, Ky, 41649.