greenslopesprivate.com.au | 3
As part of Ovarian Cancer
Awareness Month, Head
of Gynaecology, A/Prof
Russell Land, has spoken
about early warning signs,
promising new research,
and how to support
someone with a diagnosis.
Q: What are the symptoms of
ovarian cancer?
A: “Classic warning signs are abdominal
distention, pain, and bladder pressure
that just don’t go away. Everybody will
get bloating at some point in their lives –
both male and female – but if it doesn’t
dissipate in 6-8 weeks you should have
it investigated. That doesn’t mean it is
definitely ovarian cancer – it could be a
myriad of other things – but you should
always listen to your body. If you don’t feel
things are right then you should be seeing
a GP for a check. Ultrasounds are very
simple to get to make sure your ovaries are
fine, particularly if you have a family history
of breast or ovarian cancer.”
Q: Is there any promising
research underway?
A: “There is a new blood test in its early
phase of development which screens for
eight serious cancers – and ovarian cancer
is one of them. Hopefully, this test called
CancerSEEK could be the type of thing
that will really give us a big shot at
improving patient
survival. At present,
prophylactic surgery
for at-risk patients
is our biggest way to
obtain a risk reduction.
So it would be an
awesome step forward
to be able to detect
early-stage cancers
or to pinpoint patients
who are very likely to
get the disease.”
Another thing running
at the moment is the
ECHO trial* which is all
about exercise during
chemotherapy.
An exercise physiologist develops a
program appropriate to the patients to
help them through their chemotherapy
regime. We think it helps mentally,
physically, and perhaps even in the
outcomes of their therapy. Patients
potentially cope better with the treatment
and actually perhaps get a better outcome.
That trial is currently running in Brisbane,
including at Greenslopes Private Hospital,
and is still in the recruitment phase.
Thirdly, immunotherapy has a lot of
promise; it is a treatment to modify
your immune system or target specific
receptors on cells to be very accurate
in killing the cancer cells but not
affecting the normal cells. There are
a couple of trials that have happened
regarding immunotherapy and a
couple more in the pipeline.
Q: What are some ways to show
support for a loved one with
ovarian cancer?
A: It’s not a contagious problem and they
just want to hear from you and know you’re
there. Treatment can make patients tired
but try to do anything you can to help out.
It could be as simple as cooking a meal or
taking them out for a coffee.
Q: What is your take-home
message during Ovarian Cancer
Awareness Month?
A: Current therapy works extremely well
if we can get the patients early enough.
Unfortunately we don’t get patients in
that really early stage of disease as often
as we would like in order to be able to
institute current treatment. So my message
would be: don’t put your head in the sand;
listen to your body. If you feel like you’re
not being heard, see someone else for a
second opinion.
*funding from Cancer Australia, Cancer Council Australia,
World Cancer Research Fund International
THINK TEAL
A/Prof Russell Land, Gynaecological
Oncologist at Greenslopes Private Hospital
Raising awareness
of Ovarian Cancer