PARKERSBURG - One local ovarian cancer survivor is on a mission: To spread the word and raise awareness of this deadly disease.

Bettie Lucas of Washington, W.Va., recently attended a luncheon held in Charleston by first lady Gayle Manchin and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at the Governor's Mansion to mark the kickoff of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The effort is a national one and governors and their spouses across the nation participated in the event.

"It is personal for me," Lucas said. "We really need to raise awareness about ovarian cancer. It doesn't receive the attention that breast cancer does. We hear about the need to have mammograms and even about the dangers of skin cancers, but ovarian cancer doesn't get the same attention and people need to be aware of the dangers," she said.

"I have joined with a group in Huntington which works with supervisors teaching medical students going into gynecology as their field of study. It's a program from the Ovarian National Alliance and every quarter there are at least three ovarian cancer survivors who go into the third-year medical students, and we talk to them about ovarian cancer from a survivor's point of view," Lucas said. "The students are finding out people often have little or no knowledge of ovarian cancer before they were diagnosed; no one has talked to them about it," she said.

At the luncheon, OCRF ambassador Mary Schiano and Dr. Michael Schiano spoke on the prevalence and incidence of ovarian cancer.

Annually, 22,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 15,000 women die from the disease. Each year in West Virginia approximately 166 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. A woman's risk for developing ovarian cancer increases with age, with approximately two-thirds of ovarian cancers occurring in women 55 year and older. In West Virginia, where 40 percent of the residents are over age 45, the risk to women for developing ovarian cancer is even more of a concern, Lucas said.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of gynecological cancers. Early detection, however, is the key to surviving ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancers that are detected at Stage I, the earliest stage, have a more than 90 percent survival rate. Knowing what the symptoms are and the risk factors for this disease are vital, she said.

Lucas said ovarian cancer often has symptoms that are vague and could easily be ignored or discounted as something as incidental as indigestion.

"Learning to really listen to what your body is saying to you, and it's always talking to you, is essential. Ovarian cancer is often discovered when it has reached Stage III or Stage IV because symptoms have not been recognized," Lucas said.

Lucas is a seven-year ovarian cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in 2002 after consulting with her physician about "something" that was just not quite right. She underwent laparoscopy surgery to take a look at one ovary and the cancer was discovered. A complete hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo oophorectomy, omentectomy and lymphadenectomy was performed. This was followed by six rounds of chemotherapy.

"I was lucky," she said, "My cancer was discovered early at a Stage I. If I had not listened to what my body was telling me, it might have been found too late. I believe that every woman should know what the symptoms of ovarian cancer are and also what the risk factors are," Lucas said.

Lucas said the ovarian cancer awareness program for medical students in West Virginia and Cabell Huntington Hospital is with Dr. Gerard Oakley's third-year gynecology medical students. In the presentations ovarian cancer survivors share their story with the students.

The message Lucas said she leaves with the students is that they need to talk to their patients about ovarian cancer, the risk factors and symptoms so that women know what to be aware of. She also tells the students to be proactive in this endeavor, don't wait until the patient asks about it.

In 2007, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and American Cancer Society originated the following consensus statement regarding the symptoms of ovarian cancer: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency). These symptoms are much more likely to occur in women with ovarian cancer than women in the general population.

Women with ovarian cancer report that symptoms are persistent and represent a change from normal for their bodies. The frequency and/or number of such symptoms are key factors in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Several studies show that even early stage ovarian cancer can produce these symptoms. Women who have these symptoms almost daily for more than a few weeks should see their doctor, preferably a gynecologist. Prompt medical evaluation may lead to detection at the earliest possible stage of the disease. Early stage diagnosis is associated with an improved prognosis.

"Every woman should talk to her doctor about her personal risk for ovarian cancer, even if her ovaries have been removed. It is a conversation that could potentially save your life," Lucas said.