Breast cancer has mammography, but we have nothing. One of the most powerful people in the fashion industry, Tilberis rose from the ranks of unpaid intern to editor in chief during her 22 years at British Vogue, moving to New York to edit and revitalize the jewel in the crown of the Hearst publishing empire. Through the 1990s, as she rebuilt Bazaar, she underwent surgery, then chemotherapy, then an excruciating bone marrow transplant and further recurrences. The sense of urgency is palpable. One of the risk factors is increasing age, and so as the population ages, more people live longer and more people get ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is multi-genetic, controlled by multiple different gene mutations.
For other gynecologic cancers, either we have a screening test or detection by examination, or the early symptoms prompt early diagnostic tests, so we can more easily cure them. Dr. Jacob Rotmensch, section chief of gynecologic oncology at the University of Chicago, believes that blood marker research offers the most promise for achieving early diagnosis. Even if there isn't yet an early detection test, they can still have the pelvic exam, a Pap smear and mammograms after 40. Heredity isn't a factor for 90 percent to 95 percent of women who get ovarian cancer. Tilberis said she suspected her use of fertility drugs had something to do with the development of her ovarian cancer.