Author: Lynch Syndrome Ireland

Did you know that more Irish women die from ovarian cancer than any other European country? I didn’t.

One of the main reasons for this is because symptoms can be vague, and the majority of women (75%) are diagnosed with late-stage disease.

Neither of us want to be part of these statistics but symptoms can be vague and similar to other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.

Contact your GP if you have any of these BEAT symptoms for three weeks or more as these may be warning signs of ovarian cancer:

                            ·  B loating that is persistent and doesn’t come and go 

                            ·  E ating less and feeling full more quickly 

                            ·  A bdominal and pelvic pain you feel most days 

                            ·  T oilet changes in urination or bowel habits 

https://www.rte.ie/player/series/today/SI0000000197?epguid=IH000403530

Dr Doireann O’Leary (@WorldOvarianCancerDay @RTEToday) talks about the importance of being symptom aware and shares the meaning of BEAT.

She also talks about the importance of ‘the big T’, ie getting Treatment early. If someone has these symptoms it likely is something less serious than Ovarian Cancer but the most important thing is not to brush it off, do go to your GP and get checked and try to get in to the habit of doing that. Building this habit greatly increases the chances of early diagnosis.

https://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/news/a-gp-blood-test-that-could-help-diagnose-ovarian-cancer-faster-and-more-accurately

“This is the first time that HE4 has ever been evaluated in a primary care setting, so it will be exciting to see larger-scale studies implemented to further assess its effectiveness as a diagnostic aid. Earlier diagnosis will have important implications for women’s treatment, care and ultimately, survival.”

If you have been diagnosed with Lynch syndrome, you have may questions about your medical care. This page from the USA has information on cancer risk, screening, prevention and treatment for people with an inherited mutation in a Lynch syndrome gene. 

https://www.facingourrisk.org/portal/people-with-lynch-syndrome?utm_source=Pardot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=National_Update_May_2022

https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj-2021-066720

Key messages

• Some commonly used language in healthcare confers petulance on patients, renders them passive, or blames them for poor outcomes
• Such language negatively affects patient-provider relationships and is outdated
• Research is needed to explore the impact that such language could have on patient outcomes
• Clinicians should consider how their language affects attitudes and change as necessary

Highlights

•

Premenopausal oophorectomies in patients not at increased risk of ovarian cancer.•

Uptake of risk-reducing surgery (RRS) in Lynch syndrome aligns poorly with cancer risk and mortality.•

Uptake of RRS does not correspond well with current clinical guidelines.•

There is an unmet need for multidisciplinary planning to avoid repeated surgery.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959804921001052?fbclid=IwAR2iWs_WEl3FOo1sPf3pLpUDC5TQNhwOnaA4tPTRnojQ42PJLIBXy_q_aXw

If a woman is diagnosed at stage 1, she has a 90% of surviving at five years or more. However, only 33% of women are diagnosed at this stage.

You can find out more ovarian cancer statistics here: https://t.co/J7E0gO7nh8 pic.twitter.com/JYRF8YVIaG

— Ovarian Cancer Action (@OvarianCancerUK) April 20, 2022

A vaccine against cancers caused by Lynch syndrome — an inherited disorder — will be among the first to test if a vaccine can stop nonviral cancers from appearing. The Lynch trial is among several looking to test a new generation of preventative cancer vaccines.

Recently, scientists have discovered that a type of immune cell known as a T cell is capable of recognizing the unique signatures of a tumor cell — and giving them the business. 

Therapies designed to increase T cell’s killing power and ability to target cancer after it appears have already been approved, and they can be quite successful at treating some cancers. (More recent work is recruiting another type of immune cell, the awesomely named natural killer cells, to fight cancer.)

https://www.freethink.com/health/preventative-cancer-vaccines

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in high-income countries and incidence is rising globally.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00323-3/fulltext?utm_campaign=lancet&utm_content=204550716&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-27013292

Medical literacy is important, but not everybody is medically educated. Sometimes it is hard for the patient to know every detail and to know what is significant and potentially life-threatening and what isn’t and what questions to ask. It should be the duty of the doctors and the labs to explicitly, and in simple terms, explain what a positive or out-of-range test might mean for the patient – and sometimes even relatives.

https://www.curetoday.com/view/inclusion-in-cancer-care-takes-an-effort-on-all-fronts

“…the ability to prevent colon cancer…”