Baby Boomer Awareness

As the six o’clock news told of all the ugliness in the world, the wars, the horror and the hate, I was already tuning out….but like a ray of sunlight, the news article that followed, brought tears to my eyes, and great joy in my heart! FINALLY! REAL HOPE…..Then I saw my mother’s face…but it but wasn’t MY mother- The lady sharing her story of her diagnosis, clenching her two girls and giving thanks to researchers, was just one more woman. A woman living with Ovarian cancer, re-inforcing the seriousness of the need for an early detection test for this disease…and as she spoke, the research doctor came in over the top, sharing the good news of their latest find. The blood test that could very well be on the same scale as that of a pap smear for Cervical cancer and a mammogram for Breast cancer.FINALLY…and just as our National Ovarian cancer awareness week came to a close…we couldn’t have asked for a bigger event.

JUDY BURNS`27/4/1937-3/7/2000

 See below:

Medical researchers say they have developed one of the first early detection tests for ovarian cancer.

Most women suffering from ovarian cancer only learn of their condition when the cancer is in its advanced stages.

Professor Greg Rice from the Women’s Cancer Foundation says the test has about a 94 per cent accuracy rate.

However he says it must be at least 99 per cent accurate to attract government subsidies.

Professor Rice says the test measures five blood components.

"It’s a different type of blood test - it measures five substances in blood, and has a better diagnostic accuracy, particularly for early stage ovarian cancer," he said.

"It will probably be in the range of $100 to $200, so yes that’s pricey, in one sense.

"If it identifies that you are at risk of ovarian cancer, is it costly? No."

The test will be available within six months.