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 too late. _Gene Wilder is her widower.

This is Kathy's Story:
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 healthcare.

I thought I had done that because I always had an annual physical and PAP smear, did monthly Self-Breast Exam, went to the dentist at least
twice/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 bacterial 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 to you, 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 he (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 drawn 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, P-L-E-A-S-E 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; DON'T 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 ONE DONE IN THREE OR SIX MONTHS AND KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON IT. JUST LIKE WOMEN DO WHEN THEY HAVE FIBROID TUMORS OR WHEN MEN HAVE A SLIGHTLY
ELEVATED PSA TEST (Prostate 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 - CATCH IT
EARLY!!!!!

Do YOU know 55 women? If so, at least one of them will have this VERY AGGRESSIVE cancer-and maybe, just maybe, it will be YOU.
I hope not!

Please, go to your doctor THIS WEEK and insist on a CA-125 test and have one EVERY YEAR for the rest of your life.

Forward this message to every woman you know and tell all of your female family members and friends. As the Nike ads say, "JUST DO IT!"
Please don't think youth will protect you, either. 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 not a factor.

Note from Lisa:
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 prostate screening (which most men's doctors automatically gives them in his physical each year and insurance pays for). I called my 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 that 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. So I am having this blood test this Friday.
For those of you that still have these parts, go have the test taken.
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.

Pass this information along to every woman you know.
I am making lots and lots of copies for all the ladies at work. We need to take care of ourselves!

HOPE


If moss can grow on a rock,
If bees can pollinate,
If tulips can make it through the winter
Then maybe its not too late.

If mushrooms can appear out of nowhere,
If rainbows can dance in the sky, If birds can manage migration,
Then maybe we don't have to ask why.

If monarchs can find the milkweed,
If autumn leaves can build the soil up,
If caribou can navigate the tundra.
Then maybe we don't have to give up.

If turtles can sleep under icesheets,
If bears have cubs while they snore,
If snakes can locate each other in spring,
Then maybe we can stop keeping score.

If humpbacks can sleep under icesheets,
If sea turtles can find the same beach,
If pelicans can scoop fish out of water,
Then maybe its not out of reach.

If justice is what you are seeking,
If peace is the story untold,
Just look to the wisdom of nature,
And hope will begin to unfold.

Hi
Your posts were most definitely something(s) to think about! Thank you for sharing!

Michele

A good lesson for all of us.
ATTITUDE
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud mother-in-law of my
best
friend, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her
hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she islegally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years
recently passed away, making the move necessary.
Maurine Jones is the most lovely, gracious, dignified woman that I
have
ever
had the pleasure of meeting. While I have never aspired to attain her
depth of wisdom, I do pray that I will learn from her vast experience. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing
home,
she smiled sweetly when told her room was
ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a
visual
description of her tiny room, including the
eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she
stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room ... just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied.

"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like
my room or not doesn't depend on how thefurniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already
decided
to love it ... "It's a decision I make every morning
when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my bodythat no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones
that
do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyesopen I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've storedaway ... just for this time in my life. Old age is likea bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in ... So, myadvice to you would be to deposit a lot of happinessin the bank account of memories."

This is very beautiful.

Eight Gifts

============

Below are eight gifts that don't cost a cent to give.

1) THE GIFT OF LISTENING...

But you must REALLY listen.

No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response.

Just listening.

2) THE GIFT OF AFFECTION...

Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and

handholds.

Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family

and friends.

3) THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER...

Funny pictures. Share articles, funny stories and funny

greetings. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."

4) THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE...

It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet.

A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and

may even change a life.

5) THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT...

A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super

job" or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

6) THE GIFT OF A FAVOR...

Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

Helping elderly cross the road can be nice.

7) THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE...

There are times when we want nothing better than to be left

alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of

solitude to others.

8) THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION...

The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to

someone, really it's not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

Author Unknown