Page 57 - Prevention - USA (April 2020)
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sono are negative, her doctor might say,
‘It’s just normal changes that happen as
PROTECT YOURSELF
you get older,’ ” says Dr. Bevers. “To some
SLEEP APNEA extent, you have to rely on a clinician’s
Sleep apnea should be on your ability to discern what is suspicious.”
radar if you have PCOS, snore, The same is true for ovarian cancer,
are overweight, or have a family
which can present with subtle symptoms
history of sleep apnea. Your risk
like bloating—which prompts many docs
also increases after menopause. If
to think it’s a GI issue, says Dr. Bevers.
you’re experiencing fatigue, mood
This, along with the fact that there’s no
shifts, or weight gain or you feel
“off” most days, discuss sleep early-detection test, leads to diagnoses
apnea with your primary care doc. only when the cancer is advanced. In
fact, according to the American Cancer
Society, only about 20% of ovarian
With all the cancers are found at an early stage.
awareness When you’ve had a colonoscopy, seen
BREAST AND
surrounding a gastroenterologist, and changed your
OVARIAN CANCER
regular screen- diet to manage symptoms and you don’t
ings as well as have answers (or feel better), ask about
advances in having a CAT scan or an MRI—or get
imaging technology designed to spot a referral to an ovarian cancer specialist,
breast cancer, you’d think the number of says Dr. Bevers. “When the workup is
misdiagnoses would be low. Yet one negative but symptoms persist, you need
study found that as many as 31% of all to keep circling back,” she says. “You’ve
breast cancer cases are misdiagnosed. got to be your own best advocate.”
The issue is twofold, says Therese
Bevers, M.D., the medical director of MD
Anderson Cancer Prevention Center and
PROTECT YOURSELF
an expert on cancer screening and early
BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCER
detection. In some cases (particularly
with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS), After a breast cancer diagnosis,
distinguishing between benign lesions get a second opinion to confirm
the diagnosis and plan of action.
like atypical hyperplasia and early-stage
The same goes if you’ve been
breast cancer is challenging. In other
told you don’t have cancer but
cases (especially that of invasive lobular
symptoms tell you something’s
breast cancer), the disease often doesn’t not right. Also, tell your doc
show up as a mass and may not be found about bloating, stomach pains,
via a mammogram or even a follow-up or other issues in your belly that
sonogram. “A woman may say one breast could indicate ovarian cancer.
feels different, and when a mammo and
AP R I L 2020 • PREVENTION.COM 55
