Fighting
the myth of CA-125
Ovarian
Cancer Canada launches national anti-viral campaign to combat inaccurate
e-mail that endangers women’s lives.
VANCOUVER, BC (Feb. 2, 2006) – An urban legend email urging women to get a CA-125 (glycoprotein) test to “save their life” is causing unnecessary panic among women and could endanger their lives, according to Ovarian Cancer Canada (OCC), a national charity with a mandate of awareness, support and education.
The CA-125 test measures a level of protein that can be affected by many health factors. It can produce false positive results which lead to weeks of emotional trauma for women who think they might have ovarian cancer, as well as false negative results, which could allow the cancer to grow unchecked while patients think they have nothing to worry about. Healthy women have also undergone unnecessary surgeries because of elevated CA-125 results.
“The CA-125 blood test is not a screening test for ovarian cancer,” said Dr. Ken Swenerton, a Canadian medical oncologist and an OCC Board Member. “Unfortunately, there is no conclusive screening test for ovarian cancer, not even a pap smear can detect it. The best defense against ovarian cancer is knowing your body. Women are the best judge of how they feel and often know the difference between common, occasional discomfort and something more persistent and potentially serious.”
To combat the urban legend of the CA-125 test as a lifesaver, OCC is today launching a national awareness campaign through its network of more than 2,000 members and supporters across Canada, most of whom have been affected by ovarian cancer.
Two key components of the campaign will be an e-mail from OCC disputing the myth of CA-125 as a screening test and a URL intended to capture internet searchers trying to verify this insidious urban legend and re-direct them to accurate information about the disease.
“Women deserve to have the most accurate medical information available regarding ovarian cancer,” said Evelyn Lazare, Executive Director, OCC. “Ovarian Cancer affects some 2,500 Canadian women each year and claims the lives of 1,500 annually. Thousands of women forwarded the inaccurate email on the CA-125 test. We’re asking them to forward our email and to provide accurate, healthy advice to their friends and colleagues.”
