Dr Oz: National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
Dr Oz teamed up with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC) to create the Ovarian Cancer One Sheet and to sponsor an event in Dallas, Texas to screen women for this not-so Silent Killer. Doctor Oz and the NOCC setup a mobile medical center at the Grapevine Mills Mall in Dallas, Texas. Along with a team of over 40 volunteers, they broke the silence about Ovarian Cancer. Everyone who came to the clinic filled out a Dr Oz Ovarian Cancer One Sheet and the women who had serious symptoms were seen by doctors and had Transvaginal Ultrasounds. Over the course of eight hours, the doctors met with 500 women to spread awareness, calm fears and to break the silence on Ovarian Cancer.
Doctor Oz found one woman at the clinic who seemed to have the most worrisome issues. Her mother passed away from Ovarian Cancer nine months after being diagnosed, so when she heard about Dr Oz’s clinic at the Grapevine Mills Mall, she knew she had to go. The doctor did a Transvaginal Ultrasound on her and found a 5.2 cm cyst which is big enough to be of great concern. She said she had mentioned her symptoms to her doctor at her last ObGyn appointment (just one year ago), but she was told to go see a Neurologist. She does not have a firm diagnosis yet, but without a doubt she will be having the tumor removed.
Dr Oz asked Dr Barbara Goff and Dr Carol Brown what Ovarian Cancer Tests can be done if you suspect you might have Ovarian Cancer. Here are three tests to ask for:
Dr Oz: Transvaginal Ultrasound
The Transvaginal Ultrasound was the Ovarian Cancer Exam that they did at Dr Oz’s clinic in Dallas, Texas. They basically take a probe and place it inside of you, which gives them a great view of your ovaries so that they can usually see and detect issues. Pre-menopausal women should have an ovary around the size of a walnut, and Postmenopausal women will have an ovary around the size of an almond. The woman who Dr Oz brought onto his show had a cyst that was around the size of a plum (just to help you visualize the scale).
Dr Oz: Recto-Vaginal Exam
The second Ovarian Cancer Exam is the Recto-Vaginal Exam. To do this test, your doctor will place one finger in you and one finger in your rectum, which allows him or her to feel your ovaries better than just a regular exam. Normally, when you do a pelvic exam, Dr Oz showed how it is hard to feel the ovaries because they are more towards the back.
Dr Oz: CA-125 Blood Test
The third Ovarian Cancer Test is the CA-125 Blood Test. Dr Carol Brown said that this test measure protein that Ovarian Cancer secretes into your blood stream. The CA-125 Blood Test does not guarantee you that you have or do not have Ovarian Cancer, but again, it is a helpful tool in getting a proper diagnosis.
Dr Oz’s guests were all wearing Teal Ribbons in support of Ovarian Cancer Awareness, which is a great thing to do to help spread the word. Please also help pass on the message by forwarded a link to the article on Dr Oz’s Ovarian Cancer One Sheet to every woman you know!
cathy says
I would always ask for the CA-125 test at my gyno and I was always told that it was a waste of money because they would usually come back as inconclusive or a false positive. This was around the time that Gilda Radnor had passed and saw many articles to have this test done.