Recently I read an article which made me seriously question the danger of using, “Silent Killer”, “Be aware, it whispers”, and other variations of “whisper/silent” metaphoric descriptions of Ovarian Cancer.

 I have included an excerpt below, written by Patricia Jasen.

 From the “Silent Killer” to the “Whispering Disease”: Ovarian Cancer and the Uses of Metaphor

PATRICIA JASEN^* PATRICIA JASEN, *Patricia Jasen, Department of History, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, ThunderBay, Ontario, Canada P7B 5E1; e-mail: pjasen@lakeheadu.ca ;

“The “silent killer” metaphor was challenged because, in the view of some patients and practitioners, it had become inaccurate and dangerously misleading. A growing body of medical evidence supported the hypothesis that an awareness of “early” symptoms might hasten diagnosis and, with improvements in treatment, timely diagnosis became a major factor in long-term survival. In June 2007, the American Cancer Society publicly disassociated itself from the term “silent killer”—“a catchy phrase, but it is wrong”, announced the ACS website.²⁶ The ACS and other agencies identified a list of common symptoms which might be present even in early stage cancer, including bloating, frequent urination, pain, and eating or digestive problems.”

We have attached access to the entire paper written by Dr. Jasen.  I encourage everyone to read it.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766137/

 My opinion, after reading this article:   It is time for us to sever the attachment of “whispers and silence” to a disease that HAS SYMPTOMS. 

My symptoms were neither silent nor whispering;  they were UNRECOGNIZED by me and my physician. Lack of knowledge remains our challenge; educating/empowering women and physicians to recognize these symptoms is the work at hand; finding a CURE is our goal.

 Saying that it whispers, gets a lot of people off the hook.

Who is responsible for missing a diagnosis when ovarian cancer is known as, “whispering, silent and sneaky”?

If it’s so “silent and sneaky”, so hopeless; why do we waste money on education and awareness, or legislation such as Johanna’s Law?

The bottom line is – most of us had symptoms but we were ignorant of the disease.

There was a day years ago, in a meeting of Gynecologic Oncologists when an Ovarian Cancer Survivor literally stood on a table top to get the attention of the physicians attending and INSISTED on behalf of the Survivors who joined her, that Ovarian Cancer has SYMPTOMS and the doctors must believe that.

A study followed and after years of “sneaky silence and whispering”, symptoms of Ovarian Cancer were at last recognized by the medical community.

By using a host of metaphors we give this disease a cloaked and stealthy power to sneak past our physicians and ourselves and puts us and our disease back into a dark and dangerous closet.  (Metaphorically speaking, of course)

 Let’s say: CURE OVARIAN CANCER!  Know your body!  Know the symptoms! Save your life! Let’s shout this to the world!   I am done with “whispering.” It’s time to retire the metaphors that paint us as weak and invisible victims.

 We want a CURE, we want a DIAGNOSTIC TEST and we want EVERYONE to know we are here and we make noise!

Constance M. Van Asdale, President

Space Coast Ovarian/Gynecologic Cancer Alliance

The first tool is a personal Symptom Diary, developed by the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance and the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, which can be used to track persistency of symptoms over time that may indicate the possibility of ovarian cancer. Completing this diary will help you document your concerns and assist you and your doctor in determining next steps. (www.ovariancancer.org/diary/)

A multi-institutional study has identified a potential personalized treatment target for the most common form of ovarian cancer.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173434.php

One of our Partner Members in Tampa, Florida, Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered, also known as “FORCE”, focuses on hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and therefore has extensive information on the genetic issues, as they pertain to Ovarian Cancer. Ovarian Cancer may be hereditary. Ovarian cancer can be caused by changes in Genes called “hereditary mutations.” This gene changes can be passed down from the mother or the father to daughters or sons and cause cancer to run in the family. Families with ovarian, fallopian tube, breast, or pancreatic cancer may have a hereditary mutation in the genes called BRCA1 or BRCA2.

For More Information regarding and hereditary factors see www.facingourrisk.org

With the passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) in the House of Representatives this past weekend, women with ovarian cancer and their families may be wondering how this bill will affect their health care coverage. Listed below are some major provisions of the bill. The House bill is not the final Health Reform bill.

Click Here to read about this bill.