Archived Medical & OCAN News Articles

The Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Nevada wants to help extend your knowledge by keeping you informed about the latest happenings in this area of your health. They consist of articles not only about medical breakthroughs, but of success, hope, and actions. The following links are to articles for the current month, that have appeared in newspapers and publications from sources throughout both the U.S. and world wide, and are available with on-line editions. Each listing has a short opening paragraph of the article. The listing of the links are by date published, with the most recent found listed first.

For archived articles prior to the current calendar month, please see: Ovarian Cancer Archived News



For Current Articles, please return to: Latest News about Ovarian Cancer


April 2005

Apr 30, 2005 - "News Herald", Lake Havasu City, AZ
On the Walk: Participants in Relay for Life fight cancer with their feet
Folks in Lake Havasu City who want to find a cure for cancer aren't about to stand back and let other people do the work for them. They turned out at the Lake Havasu High School running track bordering the football field Friday night for the first Relay for Life in the city, raising about $42,000 - nearly double the $25,000 goal they'd set.

Apr 30, 2005 - "CBS News 4 - Colorado", Denver, CO
Recurrence of cancer ``has taken a great toll''
DENVER (AP) Patsy Ramsey is undergoing outpatient chemotherapy in a fourth occurence of ovarian cancer, and friends fear she is losing the fight, the Rocky Mountain News reported Saturday. The newspaper said Ramsey, mother of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, is staying at the Roswell, Ga., home of her father, Don Paugh, as she battles the disease.

Apr 26, 2005 - "The Journal", UK
Help to beat this killer, say sisters
Sisters who survived a rare genetic condition are urging North women to join Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. Karen McGurrell[correct], 30, and Kay, 27, suffer from Li-Fraumeni's [correct] syndrome that increases the risk of contracting cancer early in life. The syndrome affects only 400 families in the world and having watched their father and his two brothers die from cancer, Karen and Kay, from Fulwell, Sunderland, suspected they would have a high risk of developing the disease too.

Apr 25, 2005 - "St. Petersburg Times", St. Petersburg, FL
Chemotherapy standard for ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal of all gynecological cancers. This year, there will be an estimated 22,000 new cases and 16,000 deaths from it. Early diagnosis followed by surgery and chemotherapy offers the best chance for cure. Unfortunately, most ovarian cancers in early stages cause either no symptoms or mild nonspecific symptoms that are attributed to other common ailments. As a result, more than 70 percent of patients are diagnosed with an advanced stage, where the possibility of cure is significantly decreased. Unlike Pap smears for cervical cancer, mammography for breast cancer and colonoscopy for colorectal cancer, there is no reliable marker for early detection of ovarian cancer

Apr 25, 2005 - "Daily Trojan", USC, CA
Research unlocks ovarian cancer
Discovery by USC scientists can allow earlier detection, increase survival chances. A new finding by USC researchers has uncovered the main cause of ovarian cancer, which provides insight into how to detect ovarian cancer earlier and increase the chance of survival. Ovarian cancer is the fourth-most common cancer among women. About 30,000 new cases of ovarian cancer are reported in the United States every year, said Louis Dubeau, professor of pathology who led the research.

Apr 23, 2005 - "MedicineNet, Inc",
Mixed Results for Lymph-Removing Ovarian Cancer Surgery
For women battling ovarian cancer, removal of certain lymph nodes does not improve overall five-year survival, researchers report. The procedure, called systemic lymphadenectomy, may slow progression of the disease for some patients, however. The Italian study included 427 women with advanced ovarian cancer who had either primary tumor-reducing surgery followed by lymphadenectomy -- removal of the aortic and pelvic lymph nodes -- or surgery alone. The patients were tracked for an average of nearly five years.

Apr 19, 2005 - "Medical News Today", East Sussex, United Kingdom.
New approach to cancer treatment shown to be highly effective
Attacking novel S1P target eliminates cancerous tumors in some cases - An antibody developed by San Diego-based Lpath Therapeutics, Inc. could someday treat many of the deadliest solid and liquid tumors. This unique monoclonal antibody, called SphingomabTM, was tested in several animal models of human cancer and was shown to significantly retard cancer growth on a consistent basis; in some cases, it eliminated the tumor altogether. According to Dr. Mills, the most deadly, multi-resistant cancers--including lung, breast, melanoma, and ovarian cancers--responded well to the SphingomabTM approach of targeting S1P. The SphingomabTM treatment not only blocked the effects of S1P on the cancer cells themselves, but also prevented tumor angiogenesis, which is the formation of new blood vessels that feed the growing tumor.
Also see: Innovations Report

Apr 18, 2005 - "Taunton Gazette", Taunton, MA
Salon raises funds for research
Yesterday afternoon Michael's Hair Salon (Route 140 County St.) provided hair cuts and styles, manicures and pedicures to more than 55 people, and raised approximately $1,200 toward Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society. Michael's assistant manager, Jennifer Chatham, said approximately 10 salon staffers volunteered their time because helping find a cure to cancer is a cause "near and dear to all of us." Janicke's mother Carmen lost her battle to ovarian cancer and died nearly two years ago. Janicke said his mother was an active volunteer who helped with the fight against cancer and he continues to do the same where she left off.

Apr 17, 2005 - "Tifton Gazette ", Tifton, GA
Beating cancer 'changed life for the better'
They don’t share age, race or ethnicity; in fact, the two really couldn’t be more different. But yet these two women have stared the same killer in the eye, and both were courageous enough to blink. It wasn’t a robber or burglar or rapist that threatned these women’s lives. Instead it was a cold and calculating killer that feels no remorse and shares no humanity. These women have beaten cancer.

Apr 16, 2005 - "Science Daily",
Shape-altering Genes Linked To Ovarian Cancer
Honami Naora, Ph.D., an assistant professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Molecular Therapeutics and her colleagues discovered that a set of shape-altering genes become activated in ovarian cancer. These HOX genes, better known for their role in normal embryonic development, direct the cancer cells to take a variety of different forms, depending on which of the genes is turned on. The researchers reported their finding in the April 10, 2005 on-line issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

Apr 16, 2005 - "The Globe", Toronto, ON, Canada
Terry's legacy: Yard sales, walkathons and, yes, nude calendars
Homegrown fundraising efforts for cancer research are sweeping the city. Today, as Tina Joester wakes up the morning after hosting a fundraiser for cancer at a lounge on Wellington Street, a group of women in Whitby and Pickering known as the Rosebuds will be out on their weekly training walk for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer walkathon. While they exercise, they'll be planning the myriad fundraising events they hold each year, including golf tournaments, casino events, car washes, garage sales, home parties and the catchily named Bowling for Boobs. "We do anything and everything we can to raise money," says Rosebud Darla Jones, whose group raised $31,000 last year. "Nothing is sacred." Meanwhile, over on the Danforth a little later today, some of the Men of the Jester, who last year created a nude calendar -- of themselves -- that raised $31,000 for ovarian cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital, will be planning their next moneymaking escapade over a few brews at the Court Jester Pub.

Apr 16, 2005 - "Journal Sentinel", Milwaukee, WI
Calendar helps friends fight cancer every day
If you have reason to cry, here's a prescription to try. Just laugh. Laugh 'til there's not a dry eye. The formula is working for a group of Waukesha area women who for nearly 40 years now have shared faith and families and friendship. Laughter's been their cement. Look no further for proof than their latest self-indulgence, a calendar by them, of them and for them created because, at this moment, they are in particular need of some joy. Three of them are fighting ovarian cancer, all diagnosed within months of each other in late 2001 and early 2002. Marilyn Busch, Lynne Gramling and Karen Vetta were all headed back into another round of chemotherapy.

Apr 14, 2005 - "Herald Sun", Port Melbourne, Australia
Early test may save women's lives
HUNDREDS of women's lives could be saved with a breakthrough test to detect early stage ovarian cancer. Melbourne researchers are developing a test they hope will diagnose the deadly disease earlier than before. About 1200 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Australia each year, and about 700 die from it. There is no community-based screening test available for early detection and most women are diagnosed only when the cancer has spread to other organs in the body.


Apr 02, 2005 - "The State", SC
Passing Johanna’s Law is a pro-life cause president and Congress can win
If this Congress and president are true to their pro-life convictions, then why don’t they sign and effectuate Johanna’s Law? A law that could not only save the lives of thousands of women, but also save millions for the U.S. Treasury. Johanna’s Law is a bill that has been presented to the same Congress that turned on a dime to protect one life, but ironically has turned its back on thousands of lives. If passed, Johanna’s Law would provide the funding necessary to educate not only women, but also their trusted doctors, about gynecologic cancers, their symptoms and what to do if those symptoms persist.