So I read about this over breakfast.....

In today's New York Times, there's an article about a new test for women and ovarian cancer. It's a blood test that aims to catch ovarian cancer in an early, treatable stage - which is great, because only about 20% of ovarian cancers are caught at an early stage, when it's still confined to the ovaries and has a high survival rate. After it has spread, only about 30% of patients survive 5 years. The test is called OvaSure, was developed at Yale, and has been available through LabCorp since June. Good news, right? Not so much. The Society for Gynecologic Oncologists issued a statement almost immediately saying that in their opinion, it has not been validated enough. Many gyn-oncologists believe this is being used to capitalize on women's fears, and may lead to unnecessary operations, more tests, and stress. 

Most people have heard of the CA-125 blood test, which is a tumor marker blood test - but this is better used in women who already have ovarian cancer, to track the disease's progression, rather than as a screening tool, because of unreliable results. 

So where does this leave us? Essentially, right where we are. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are so generalized that many women don't really think anything of it - bloating, feelings of fullness, pelvic pain/pressure, urinary urgency/frequency, changes in appetite - see what I mean? This is why, by the time it is often diagnosed, ovarian cancer is in its later stages and notoriously hard to cure. (I hate that word, "cure", but that's a different story).