Ovarian cancer may be known as "the silent killer," but one Orangeburg survivor is using her voice to champion awareness and prevention among other women.

Sheila Dukes was having a persistently severe pain under her right breast, a condition she self-medicated until she was finally bending over in pain during a doctor's visit.

While she initially thought she was having complications with her gallbladder, a pelvic exam revealed something much worse. Her gynecologist had her undergo a cancer antigen 125, or CA-125, blood test, which can serve as a biomarker for ovarian cancer. Her CA-125 level stood at 325 -- an astronomical increase over a normal level of 35.

Outside of one nearly unbearable bout of indigestion, Dukes said she had not experienced any of the traditional symptoms of ovarian cancer, like bloating or distension of the abdomen. Her oncologist performed surgery in early August to remove the cancer that had invaded her body, and she has to undergo chemotherapy treatments every third Monday through Dec. 28.

Dukes said she doesn't let her hair loss bother her and refuses to wear a wig. She said she is more grateful that she did not wait to act on what was bothering her.

"They saw the mass on my right ovary," Dukes said. "Anytime there's something growing in you that shouldn't be there, you're always suspicious that it's cancer. So that's why the doctor did the CA-125."

"When I left the oncologist's office, his nurses told me they did not think I had ovarian cancer because I had no symptoms. Even when he examined me, he couldn't feel anything. That just goes to show you it's hiding out there in a lot of women," she said of the disease that causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

"The oncologist thinks that my dad passed this to me through ... a mutated gene. Usually it's there to fight off cancer, but when it mutates, it causes cancer. My dad had two first cousins that died of ovarian cancer. So they think through his gene, he passed it to me. They say knowledge is power, and I just didn't have that power because I did not know it could be passed from a male."

Her oncologist, Bowman native Dr. Terry K. Smith of South Carolina Oncology Associates, said while there is still not a good chemical screening tool that can be universally used to diagnose ovarian cancer, every women needs to be their own care advocate.

"There are different tests: OvaSure, OvaCheck and then the older tests like CA-125. All of these things may well play a role at some point, but they're not a universal screen. They're not like doing studies for prostate cancer. You can't go out and draw blood and say you are or you are not at risk," he said. "Basically, what we're looking for is any number of symptoms, such as abdominal bloating, early satiety, pelvic pressure, cramping abdominal pain, bloating pressure on bladder and rectum. ... It's a matter of those symptoms coming, staying and becoming progressively worse."

Smith said it comes down to people listening to their bodies, paying attention to those sorts of symptoms and seeking medical attention.

"Unfortunately, women spend so much time taking care of others that they sometimes don't take good care of themselves," he said. "Go to a doctor, nurse practitioner or whoever and say, 'These are the symptoms, and I really want you to evaluate them.' Women have to sometimes be fairly aggressive about demanding that they be done."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that among women in the United States, ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death after lung and bronchus, breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. When ovarian cancer is found in its early stages, however, treatment can be most effective.

"The most important thing is you've got to be your own advocate," Smith said. "There's 1,000 different bits of information out there, the Internet and a whole host of places. In the final analysis, go to somebody and say, 'These are the symptoms, and you've got to look at them.' It starts with a good examination.

"One in 70 women has a life-time risk of developing ovarian cancer. That's small, but it's still a devastating disease that unfortunately kills the vast majority of people that get it."

Dukes said she is living life to its fullest with the support of her friends and family, including her husband, Dennis, and their only son, Dusty. She has also found strength and encouragement through her participation in a faith-based 12-step program that has put her contact with a "new pool of friends."

"While I'm very positive about the outcome, you always expect the best but prepare for the worst," she said. "The first night I had chemo, I vomited 35 times nonstop. I had bone pain for two weeks. I mean, you can't sugar coat it. But I'm not complaining about it, believe me, because it's saving my life."

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.