One of our physicians, Katie Van Kessel M.D., wrote this op-ed in the Bellevue Reporter during the month of September, which is also known as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
In addition to her incredible work at Overlake, Dr. Van Kessel is also on the board of the Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research.
We encourage you to read her article about ovarian cancer symptoms, awareness and advocacy.
“As an obstetrician and gynecologist, I regularly order Pap smears for my patients to screen for cervical cancer and mammograms to screen for breast cancer. However, I can’t order a simple test that will screen for ovarian cancer, and that is troubling.
Ovarian cancer affects almost 200,000 women worldwide and about 18,000 women in the U.S. Seven in 10 women die within five years of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 14,230 women will die in the United States from ovarian cancer in 2013.”