I've had patients who were alcoholics say they could give up drinking but just couldn't quit smoking. The third most common cancer in women is colon cancer. Ovarian cancer, which saw a surge of awareness following the death several years ago of comedienne Gilda Radner, accounts for only four percent of all female cancers. Improvements in chemotherapy and treatment come in baby steps, not big leaps. Your best chance for a cure is still early diagnosis.
Treatments now cause much less discomfort.
The big step forward will come when we learn to treat the disease at the cellular level, to go in and fix the gene that's broken. We're getting to the point where we are able to see what gene is defective, and that's certainly the first step in figuring out a way to alter that. Dr. Towell is board certified in internal medicine, oncology and hematology. She is a member of the Seton Physician Hospital Network. All Rights Reserved.