Costco Connection - June 2009

for your health

Ovarian cancer:

know the symptoms

IN 2004, at age 36, Costco member Michele Avery was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. “I was one of the few lucky women to be diagnosed early,” she explains, but adds, “I firmly believe that luck should have nothing to do with surviving ovarian cancer!”

Last year, Avery helped establish a volunteer organization in her home state, the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Arizona ( www.ocaz.org). Their mission is to tell one million women in Arizona about the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is often referred to as a “silent killer” because it seems to have no symptoms. Not true, says Avery: “In 2007, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists ( www.sgo.org) announced what every ovarian cancer survivor already knew: There are symptoms.”

Buyer’s pıck

The most common symptoms include:



Bloating



Pelvic or abdominal pain

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Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly

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Frequent or urgent urination

If a woman experiences these symptoms and they persist after steps such as diet change, exercise, laxatives or rest, it is critical to see one’s doctor, according to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition ( www.ovarian.org).

Currently, there is no routine screening tool for ovarian cancer; the Pap smear detects cervical cancer, not ovarian cancer.

Persistence of symptoms is key. Because the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer often seem vague or can be misdiagnosed, only around 19 percent of ovarian cancer cases are found in the early stages. In advanced stages, symptoms become more pronounced as the tumor grows, putting pressure on the bladder and rectum.

For the small number of women fortunate enough to have their cancer diagnosed before it has spread beyond the ovary, the chance of being cured is 85 to 90 percent, according to the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry (www. ovariancancer.com). However, more than 70 percent of all women with ovarian cancer are not

diagnosed until the disease has spread. For these women the chance of living for five years after the diagnosis is only 20 to 25 percent.

Avery stresses, “It is important that all women know the symptoms of ovarian cancer, because the key to beating the disease is an early diagnosis.”—Anita Thompson

Teresa Thompson Pharmacy

Buyer

FRANCE FREEMAN

SIMPLY PUT, free radicals are bad, antioxidants are good.

Oxidation, a chemical process at the cellular level, enables tiny fragments of molecules to bond together, forming potentially unhealthy compounds called free radicals. Think of free radicals as being an evil force. Antioxidants are nutrients that prevent oxidation, and are referred to as free-radical scavengers.

Antioxidants occur naturally in many fruits and vegetables. That’s one reason why healthy eating plans include five or more servings of fruits or vegetables a day.

That’s also a great reason for taking supplemental antioxidants, because if you’re like many people, you probably fall short with those five daily servings of veggies.

Available at Costco in convenient 50-mg capsules, Pycnogenol ( pic-noj-en-all), an extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, is one of the most powerful antioxidants known today.

It’s also one of the best-
researched supplements
available, proven safe and
e ffectiveasdocumented
b ymorethan200pub-
l ishedarticlesand75
c linical trials.

P ycnogenol has d emonstrated benefic ial effects on card iovascular health, o steoarthritis, s kin care, asthma a nd allergy relief, d iabetes and joint health.