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.

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Ovarian cancer treatment ‘promising’ by Adam Bennett

A TRIAL of an experimental ovarian cancer treatment had "exceeded expectations", paving the way for further testing, Biotech company Prima BioMed said today.

The company said four of 21 patients with late-stage ovarian cancer in the trial had a positive clinical response or stabilisation of the disease.

It would now plan the next stage of trials of the CVac treatment, involving 100-200 patients with early-stage ovarian cancer in Australia and New Zealand, to begin in the next 12 months.

The trial was done in Melbourne’s Austin Hospital, with patients with incurable advanced ovarian cancer given a course of seven injections over a 12-month period.

Associate Professor Paul Mitchell, director of cancer services at Austin Hospital and principle investigating oncologist, said the results demonstrated a "clear benefit in patients with progressive ovarian cancer".

"It suggests that CVac is a promising new approach for ovarian cancer and warrants further clinical investigation," he said.

"As far as we’re concerned we’ve got evidence that for some patients with incurable ovarian cancer, the CVac vaccine has proven to be an effective treatment with minimal side effects.
"It’s been very promising."

CVac is a cell therapy that takes an ovarian cancer sufferer’s dendritic cells - a rare type of white blood cell that induces immunity - primes or boosts them with the CVac vaccine, before they’re reinjected into the patient.

Exposure to CVac, a combination of a protein and a sugar which is commonly on the surface of cancer cells, is designed to train the cells recognise the cancer, so they then target the disease when reintroduced to the body.

Prima BioMed’s chief scientific officer, Associate Professor Bruce Loveland, said he was pleased by the results.

"These results indicate the potential of dendritic cell therapy and the CVac approach to harness the immune system to intervene in tumour growth, even in patients with advanced disease," he said.

"The question now is whether we can get greater effect by treating women with ovarian cancer early in the course of their disease," Prof Mitchell said.

"We’re interested in terms of how well the vaccine will perform where we can make a substantial improvement in terms of delay of the cancer returning, and hopefully some benefits for survival."

The results of the next trial are expected to be released in three years.

If successful, the company will then move to more trials in the US and seek US Food and Drug Administration approval.

Courtesy: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,21380538-5003402,00.html?from=public_rss

It’s always comforting to read of our researchers making break-throughs but even when the media don’t catch it, someone, somewhere is taking notes and those surfing the net for research, are bound to locate! Such is the case with the following article. I do my best to stay on top of Ovarian cancer, so any updates of any manner are worth sharing, especially when it brings word of improved testing on this disease. Read the following which is courtesy of http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/02/13/ovariancancer-test.html?ref=rss

New ovarian cancer blood test 99 per cent effective: Yale researchers

A new blood tests has been developed that Yale researchers say can detect ovarian cancer with 99 per cent accuracy.

The test uses six protein biomarkers to identify proteins in the bloodstream that signal an ovarian tumour is present in the body. The test is 99.4 per cent effective.

Previous tests for ovarian cancer only used four protein biomarkers and recognized only 15 to 20 per cent of new ovarian tumours.

"The ability to recognize almost 100 per cent of new tumours will have a major impact on the high death rates of this cancer," said lead author Gil Mor, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale, in a release. "We hope this test will become the standard of care for women having routine examinations."

The Canadian Cancer Society says about 2,400 new cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed in Canada in 2007.

In a Phase 2 clinical trial, researchers tested the blood serum of 350 patients without ovarian cancer and 150 ovarian cancer patients. The number of proteins in each participant’s blood were counted.

Some deny its existence, others will argue. Many know it all too well but there are those who simply believe it’s been ‘over-rated’..What is it?? In a word, STRESS.

Definition:Physical or emotional tension

Any change in our lives causes stress. The change might be physical, such as extremes in temperature or loud noises, or emotional, such as the loss of a job or the beginning of a new relationship. Although we usually think of stress as the result of negative events, positive changes, such as marriage and getting a promotion at work, also creates stress.

Regardless of the cause, stress sets in motion certain automatic changes in the body that are designed to give it a quick burst of energy. The pattern of changes has been called the ‘fight-or-fight’ response because it probably eveolved from our prehistoric ancestors, who faced daily dangesr in the search for food and shelter and had to either flee or do battle! Of course, we no longer face such dangers, but our bodies continue to react as if we did. So instead of responding to a sabre-tooth tiger lurking behind a tree, the body reacts to petty annoyances like getting caught in traffic, being reprimanded by a supervisor, worrying about bills or health issues. Regardless of the type of stress, the body goes through the following changes: [see if you recognise any]

The adrenal glands release adrenalin and other stress hormones that prime certain organs to leap into action.

The breathing becomes faster and more shallow to allow the body to take in more oxygen.

The liver releases more glucose[blood sugar] to provide extra energy.

The heart beats faster and the blood pressure rises to increase the distribution of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

Blood flow to the brain and muscles is increased and, at the same time, reduced to the digestive organs.

Sweating increases to allow the body to burn more kilojoules without a rise in body temeperature. [In theory, sweating also makes the skin slippery and more difficult for a predator to grab.]

After the stressor disappears, the body returns to its normal state[homeostasis]. If however, stress is chronic-as it is for many people-the body stays on high alert. The many damaging consequenses of this include a rise in cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, damaged blood vessels, decreased mental skills and weakened immune system.

So what do we do? Well many of us have our own remedies to allieviate this problem, and most often it is dervied from common knowledge. Probably why you hear the words, ‘relax’ more over being repeated to calm you down. But in a real stressful enviroment, those two words don’t always come into play, no matter how often they are repeated.There are dozens of things you can try to improve your ability to cope. Here’s a few tips that might help.

• Take a walk, if you can, find somewhere peaceful with pleasant surroundings. Try a park with a swing!
• Prioritise and delegate-Do ONLY what’s important & neccessary as to avoid being overwhlemed.
• List daily tasks-Do this in order of importance, tackling them, one by one. Listing your tasks can get them off your mind and allow you the satisfaction of checking them off once done.
• Allow yourself a break-try to relax for a few minutes at a time between tasks.
• Try not to worry-about things you didnt achieve in that day, things you overlooked. Rather, plan to do them for the next day.
• Allow yourself extra time-to help complete a project or meet that appointment. This will help to avoid the anxiety and stress caused by traffic and other unexpected delays.
• Make your enviroment restful-Noise, aggresive colours and harsh lighting can all contribute to stress, even if you think you have adapted to them.
• Set aside time for daily relaxation-Read an uplifting book[such as that shown here]go fishing,listen to music, soak in a hot tub infused with aromatic oils and perhaps a few scented candles placed around the bath,engage in some pleasurable activity regularly.

Stress is a real symptom. It is the body’s tool for speaking to you, warning you to slow down, take things easier. A gentle approach to the soul never hurt anyone and can do wonders for the mind!

"Whatever"A baby boomer’s journey into middle age- by Beverly Mahone-Available at Amazon.com or http://www.enjoyyourmenopause.com/book_reviews.htm