Ovarian And Endometrial Cancer Patients Experience Improved Outcomes When Treated First By A Gynecologic Oncologist

For the first time, accumulated data
demonstrates that women diagnosed with a reproductive cancer, especially
ovarian and uterine (endometrial) cancers, experience improved outcomes
when treated first by a gynecologic oncologist. The 2008 State of the State
of Gynecologic Cancers: Sixth Annual Report to the Women of America,
published by the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), details these
results.



Gynecologic oncologists are physicians committed to the comprehensive
treatment of women with cancer. After completing four years of medical
school and four years of residency in obstetrics and gynecology, these
physicians pursue an additional three to four years of training in
gynecologic oncology through a rigorous fellowship program overseen by the
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Gynecologic oncologists are
not only trained to be skilled surgeons capable of performing wide-ranging
cancer operations, but also are trained in prescribing the appropriate
chemotherapy for those conditions and/or radiation therapy when indicated.
Frequently, gynecologic oncologists are involved in research studies and
clinical trials that are aimed at finding more effective and less toxic
treatments to further advance the field and improve cure rates.



"While only approximately 1/3 of women with ovarian cancer receive
their initial surgery for ovarian cancer from a gynecologic oncologist,
those who do are more likely to experience the appropriate and recommended
surgery," said Dr. Carol Brown, Medical Editor of the report and Associate
Attending Surgeon, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "Moreover,
gynecologic oncologists are more likely to perform radical procedures
during surgery resulting in a lower volume of residual disease. Data shows
that patients operated on by surgeons more likely to use radical surgical
procedures doubled their median survival time," she continued.



Endometrial cancer patients also have better outcomes when their
initial surgery is performed by a gynecologic oncologist. This is true for
two primary reasons: First, gynecologic oncologists are more likely to
perform complete surgical staging that includes removal of lymph nodes from
the pelvis and aortic regions. Second, when treating women with Stage I
endometrial cancer, gynecologic oncologists are less likely to recommend
follow-up radiation therapy. This reduces the cost of care by 31 percent,
prevents complications from over-treatment and offers patients a better
quality of life.



Similar benefits are experienced by patients diagnosed with other
gynecologic cancers, primarily due to the extensive surgical skills of
gynecologic oncologists.



The membership of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologist (SGO) is
comprised primarily of gynecologic oncologists. "Our purpose as a
profession is to help women achieve the best possible outcome from their
gynecologic cancer diagnosis," stated Dr. Thomas Burke, SGO president. "It
is our hope that the data in this report will help women and their
healthcare providers make the appropriate decision regarding their care,"
he added.



"The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (ACOG)
recognizes that generalist obstetrician-gynecologists provide the majority
of cancer screening and long-term follow up care for their patients," said
Dr. Douglas Kirkpatrick, ACOG President. "This GCF/SGO report points out
how collaboration with a gynecologic oncologist, where available, for
cancer treatment and continuing care may provide additional benefit," Dr.
Kirkpatrick stated.



To obtain a copy of the report or to learn more about gynecologic
cancers, visit GCF's Women's Cancer Network(TM) at wcn.



The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), founded by the Society of
Gynecologic Oncologists in 1991, is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization
whose mission is to ensure public awareness of gynecologic cancer
prevention, early diagnosis and proper treatment. In addition, the
Foundation supports research and training related to gynecologic cancers.
GCF advances this mission by increasing public and private funds that aid
in the development and implementation of programs to meet these goals.


Gynecologic Cancer Foundation

wcn

Women Who Consume Olive Oil Preserve Their Bone Mass Better

A study from the Harokopio University of Athens (Greece) determines that adherence to a dietary pattern close to the Mediterranean diet, with high consumption of fish and olive oil and low red meat intake, has a significant impact in women skeletal health.


Results suggest that this eating pattern could have bone-preserving properties throughout adult life.


Diet is one of the modifiable factors for the development and maintenance of bone mass. The nutrients of most obvious relevance to bone health are calcium and phosphorus because they compose roughly 80% to 90% of the mineral content of bone; protein, other minerals and vitamins are also essential in bone preservation.


Traditional analysis has focused on the relation between a specific nutrient (e.g. calcium) and bone health. But, researchers of the Harokopio University of Athens, Greece, carried out a study in two hundred twenty adult Greek women, which is valuable for the understanding of the effect of meals, consisting of several food items, in skeletal mass.


Scientists examined whether adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, rich in plant foods and olive oil, low in meat and dairy products, and with moderate intake of alcohol, or other dietary patterns, have any significant impact on bone mass maintenance in adult Greek women. They determined that adherence to a dietary pattern with some of the features of the Mediterranean diet, i.e., rich in fish and olive oil and low in red meat and products, is positively associated with the indices of bone mass.


These results suggest Oleociencia News inform- that this eating pattern could have bone-preserving properties throughout adult life.


This paper has been published in 2009 in Nutrition magazine; and has been Meropi D. Kontogianni, Labros Melistas, Mary Yannakoulia, Ioannis Malagaris, Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, and Nikos Yiannakouris of the Harokopio University of Athens, Greece.


Scientific Reference: Association between dietary patterns and indices of bone mass in a sample of Mediterranean women- Nutrition 25 (2009) 165??"171


GDESCO

oleociencia

Blogs Comment On Supreme Court Pregnancy Leave Ruling, Obama's Notre Dame Speech, Other Topics

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Peaceful Revolution: Another Blow to Women," Debra Ness, Huffington Post blogs: The Supreme Court's ruling this week in AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen "dealt a serious and painful blow to working women and the families who rely on their retirement benefits," Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, writes. The ruling "affects a limited number of people," and it "would be easy to ignore them -- easy, but terribly wrong," Ness continues. "This ruling sends a terrible message about whether discrimination will bring penalties and costs, and whether the courts will address the ongoing effects of prior discrimination," she writes. Ness notes that the ruling "couldn't come at a worse time," adding, "In today's grim economic climate, women and their families cannot afford to see their retirement benefits kept lower by discriminatory workplace policies that should have been remedied decades ago." Ness writes that it is "sobering that, at a time when negative stereotypes about pregnant women clearly persist, we have a Supreme Court that doesn't stand firm for equal rights and equal opportunity." She concludes, "It's a good reminder of what's at stake with the Supreme Court nomination President Obama is about to make" (Ness, Huffington Post blogs, 5/21).

~ "This Week in Religion and Politics," Sarah Posner, American Prospect's "The FundamentaList": When "viewed in the context of Obama's entire faith-based outreach project, the events" surrounding the University of Notre Dame's commencement ceremony "highlighted how he has embraced traditionalist, conservative religion -- to the detriment of sexual and reproductive justice," Posner writes. President Obama has "focused his outreach efforts" to reduce the need for abortion "on more conservative religious groups" and "claims to honor their position on moral issues," Posner writes. However, "when the dust settles on the Notre Dame controversy, he'll have to figure out what to do with the policy advice he has sought" from the White House Office on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, she continues. Posner adds, "How Obama reacts to that advice will demonstrate whether the council is mere window dressing to shore up support from swing constituencies or whether Obama will yield to conservative religious dogma on reproductive-health issues." Meanwhile, Christian conservatives have been "making hay of the findings" of recent Pew and Gallup polls that found more U.S. residents identifying with "pro-life" positions and using the data to argue "that Obama's position is out of touch with the majority of Americans," Posner writes. However, as bloggers at The Monkey Cage and FiveThirtyEight have pointed out, the polls are not representative of most U.S. residents' views on abortion rights, she writes. "Because of that deception on reproductive rights, it's more important than ever for the president to lay the moral groundwork for his own position -- not just to recognize the moral qualms of abortion opponents," Posner says (Posner, "The FundamentaList," American Prospect, 5/20).














~ "Meghan McCain Preaches What She Practices," Willa Paskin, Slate's "XX Factor": Meghan McCain -- Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) daughter -- "acquitted herself quite admirably" on Monday's episode of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" by "defending her core position" that the Republican Party "needs to appeal to younger voters, and it can only do so by getting liberal on social issues," Paskin writes. On the show, McCain said, "I think it's not realistic for this generation to be just plain abstinent, I think we need to have sex education with condoms and birth control. ... I would never practice anything I didn't preach." Paskin also includes a video clip of McCain's appearance (Paskin, "XX Factor," Slate, 5/19).

~ "Skill the Messenger," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) 18-year-old daughter Bristol -- who was recently named a teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation's teen pregnancy prevention campaign -- "has, yet again, harnessed the immense media interest in her to draw attention to the problem," Page writes. However, her "style as a spokesperson seems decidedly uninformed," and "someone needs to arm her with the tools to convey her message most powerfully," Page continues. Bristol Palin has "so much opportunity to make an important impact" on issues surrounding teen pregnancy in the U.S., and "with just a little guidance from the experts, she can," Page writes. She adds, "Hopefully, she'll seek out that help. It'll make her a much more interesting figure who, while keeping the fickle media engaged, can educate those at greatest risk" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 5/21).



Antiabortion-Rights Blog

~ "Reps. Sensenbrenner and Smith Call on Obama To Live Up to Notre Dame Speech Statement on Conscience Protection," National Right to Life Committee blog: Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.) in their Tuesday letter to President Obama asked that he "live up to what he said by publicly forgoing his administration's move to rescind the Bush administration's conscience protection," according to NRLC's blog. It continues that Obama's pledge during his Notre Dame commencement address to "'honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women,'" is "a far cry from what happened in late February" when the administration took the "first step toward rescinding" the Bush administration's provider "conscience" rule. The blog post adds that NRLC has sent a letter to HHS stating that the "federal government should not rescind this carefully crafted regulation designed to safeguard against forced violations of conscience in federally funded programs" (National Right to Life Committee blog, 5/20)


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Groups Concerned Utah 'Feticide' Law Could Target Women Who Miscarry

The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Medical Association and National Advocates for Pregnant Women remain concerned that women who miscarry could face criminal homicide charges under a new Utah law (HB 462), Women's eNews reports (Sclamberg, Women's eNews, 4/20). Under the law, which Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed last month, prosecutors can file such charges against women who arrange illegal abortions (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/9). Convictions can result in sentences of up to life in prison.

Herbert refused to sign an earlier version (HB 12) that would have allowed criminal charges against women for any "reckless" act resulting in the death of the fetus. The governor and others were concerned that language could apply to women who miscarry after unintentional falls or car accidents.

The final measure omitted the term "reckless," but critics say the law still could have consequences for women who miscarry. Although several other states have so-called "feticide" laws, the Utah statute differs notably in that it allows charges against the woman. Lynn Paltrow, executive director of NAPW, said other states' laws "were passed in response to a pregnant woman who has been beaten up by a husband or boyfriend."

AMA is concerned that the law will make some women fearful of seeking prenatal care. According to an AMA statement, "Pregnant women will be likely to avoid seeking prenatal or open medical care for fear that their physician's knowledge of substance abuse or other potentially harmful behavior could result in a jail sentence."

In addition, the statute gives law enforcement officials discretion over arrests. State Rep. Carl Wimmer (R), the bill's sponsor, maintains that the law will be applied only "in the most glaring of cases."

However, Liza Fuentes and Sheila Reynoso, researchers at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, argue in a jointly authored paper that the law could result in arrests of women who experience unintended miscarriages. For example, they ask, "What if a woman received treatment for cancer while pregnant?" Fuentes and Reynoso also write that the law "will be tested out on immigrants women and low-income women," as they are "less likely to have health insurance, a regular health care provider and more likely to work in dangerous conditions" compared with their white counterparts (Women's eNews, 4/20).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.