Research News - Jan 2019

A friend, social media guru and breast cancer survivor, Marie Ennis-O'Connor,  writes a weekly post in which she shares blog posts she found interesting from the week before.  In 15 Smart Ways to Drive More Traffic To Your Blog in Medium ( https://medium.com/@JBBC/15-effective-ways-to-drive-more-traffic-to-your-blog-75e1943b88f4) to recommended creating "a weekly round-up post on your blog".  I've been meaning to do this for a while but had trouble deciding what I wanted to share. Should it be journal articles or survivor stories or new resources or events? Earlier this week I decided to concentrate on research news and went to work creating a graphic I could use for these repeating posts.

On the last Wednesday of the month I will provide links to articles on ovarian cancer research and treatments I read during that month.

Here are some interesting articles published in January:

Current strategies for the targeted treatment of high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer and relevance of BRCA mutational status

"The recent addition of targeted therapies – anti-angiogenic agents and PARP inhibitors – to the pharmacologic treatments available for ovarian cancer has improved patient outcomes while increasing the available options for the traditionally difficult-to-treat disease."

Overexpression of CCDC69 activates p14^ARF/MDM2/p53 pathway and confers cisplatin sensitivity

"The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between CCDC69 expression and resistance of ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin and reveal the underlying mechanism."

Morbidity and Mortality Rates Following Cytoreductive Surgery Combined With Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Compared With Other High-Risk Surgical Oncology Procedures 

"Comparative analysis revealed CRS/HIPEC to be safe, often safer across the spectrum of NSQIP safety metrics when compared with similar-risk oncologic procedures. Patient selection was important in achieving observed outcomes. High complication rates are a misperception from early CRS/HIPEC experience and should no longer deter referral of patients to experienced centers or impede clinical trial development in the United States."

Risk of Malignant Ovarian Cancer Based on Ultrasonography Findings in a Large Unselected Population 

"According to this study, the ultrasonographic appearance of ovarian masses is strongly associated with a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer. Simple cysts are not associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer, whereas complex cysts or solid masses are associated with a significantly increased risk of ovarian cancer."  

Prevalence of germline pathogenic BRCA1/2 variants in sequential epithelial ovarian cancer cases.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30683677/
"Our study suggests that age at diagnosis, family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, medical history of breast cancer or a Manchester BRCA Score of ≥15 points are associated with a >10% prevalence of germline pathogenic BRCA1/2 variants in epithelial ovarian cancer.

 

 

Studies Seek to Expand on PARP Inhibitor Success in Ovarian Cancer 

https://www.onclive.com/web-exclusives/studies-seek-to-expand-on-parp-inhibitor-success-in-ovarian-cancer

Where Does Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Fit in Ovarian Cancer Treatment?

http://www.cancernetwork.com/ovarian-cancer/where-does-immune-checkpoint-inhibition-fit-advanced-ovarian-cancer-treatment

If you run across any interesting articles about ovarian cancer research please share them in the comments below or sent them to me in an e-mail.  I will be sure to add them to this page.  Knowledge is Power. (LiveSTRONG)

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

 

If I Reach One Woman

Over the years I have contemplated whether or not this blog is valuable to others and whether or not I should continue posting to it. I get very few comments - even spam comments - compared to the comments which the #gyncsm community blog receives. 

I think that I write this blog as much for myself as for others. . I have made some great connections through this blog. And it is a place where I can go back and reread information on tests I had or events I attended or how I felt at a specific time in this journey.

I remember how I felt when I was first diagnosed and didn't know much at all about ovarian cancer. Looking for someone who had a similar experience. So  I continue writing.

And then every few years I cross paths on another platform - Facebook group, Smart Patients, Inspire and they ask me if I am the one with the Women of Teal blog. Like this woman who last week responded to a post on another platform that I wrote about the  #gyncsm chat on Vaccines.

So great to see you on this site. I’ve read many of your Women of Teal blogs, but was never able to figure out how to reply with a thank you. So, thank you for your work and dedication to the OVC community. When I was diagnosed with stage 3 c ovc in 2015 ...  I tried to research information about this beast of a disease and somehow came upon your site. Your words helped me to deal with an overwhelming sadness. My doctors told me it would come back. The fact that you recurred and still continued to give back always stayed with me. 
( public response)

There is my answer. I will continue writing this blog.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing.

New Year Aspirations

Another year begins!

As we welcome 2019,  I wish all my followers a very Happy and Health New Year!

If you are a regular follower you know that at the beginning of every year I don't make New Year Resolutions but rather aspirations. I tend not to feel too guilty if I don't quite get to do what I aspire to do, as you will see by the repeat aspirations below. But having concrete goals helps keep me focused.

Here are aspirations from 2018 that I will continue to work on this year.

• I aspire to continue to support women diagnosed with ovarian cancer through this blog and the  #gyncsm  community, to share my story as an ovarian cancer survivor and to promote ovarian cancer research.  ( I am excited to be attending and speaking at the ASCO Annual Meeting in June this year. More details soon.)
• I aspire to travel to Maine in 2019.  ( This has been on my list since 2016. But I'll keep trying .)
• I aspire to build an even better bond with my dog Amber so we can improve our work at the masters level in agility. ( My knee injury kept us out of the ring for the last 6 months of 2018.)  
• I aspire to go kayaking. (Once again my knee injury kept me from doing this last year.)
• I aspire to complete an online course in Genomics. (There just weren't enough hours in the day to get this done. I'm leaving this on the list though because I think this knowledge will only make me a better advocate.)

 Added to my list:

• I aspire to spend more time learning how to work with pastels. (I took an eight week art class and enjoyed the time I worked with the pastels.)
• I aspire to consistently attend yoga class. ( I dropped in on some classes in November and I felt calmer and more centered. ) 
• I aspire to step away from social media for a period of time each week and make connections in person - call or visit. 

What do you aspire to do in 2019?

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!