KIDS,
KIDS, GO
KIDS, GO TO A U. E. SOME THAT'S AWESOME.
DOT COM.
KGO.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE
FOREGOING HEALTH CHECKUPS AND
AVOIDING MEDICAL CLINICS OR
HOSPITALS IN THE PANDEMIC WHEN
IT COMES TO OVARIAN CANCER.
DOCTORS ARE ALREADY
EXPERIENCING CHALLENGES WHEN IT
COMES TO DETECTING OVARIAN
CANCER IN BLACK WOMEN.
NOW RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN
BLACK WOMEN ARE LESS LIKELY TO
GET OVARIAN CANCER DETECTED IN
THE EARLY EARLY STAGES.
AND WITH US NOW TO TELL ABOUT
THE RACIAL DISPARITIES IS AS
DR. ELENA RATNER FROM YALE
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
AND ALSO HEALTH ADVOCATE
SANTANA HEYSEL.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
TWIMG.
SO IF YOU COULD FIRST TELL US,
DOCTOR, WHY IS EARLY DETECTION
OF OVARIAN CANCER SO IMPORTANT
UPS ALREADY?
EXACTLY AS YOU SAID.
YOU KNOW, BEING CANCER
CONTINUES TO BE SO DEADLY IT'S
UNACCEPTABLE.
PART OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH
DELAY IN EARLY DETECTION.
MOST CANCERS OF THIS TYPE
UNFORTUNATELY IS STILL
DIAGNOSED STAGE THREE AND STAGE
FOUR.
AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH A LOT
OF THINGS.
YOU KNOW, THE SYMPTOMS
OF OVARIAN CANCER ESPECIALLY
THE EARLY STAGES OF A BIG WOMEN
COMPLAIN ABOUT SYMPTOMS,
BLADDER SYMPTOMS AND BLOATING
THAT CLOSE AND NOT FEELING
WELL.
BUT YOU ALSO CAN HEAR THAT
THESE ARE ALSO SYMPTOMS THAT
WOMEN EXPERIENCE NORMALLY AND
HORMONALLY ESPECIALLY AROUND
TIME OF MENOPAUSE.
SO MANY WOMEN DON'T PRESENT TO
THE PROVIDERS AND WHEN THEY DO
PREVENT PROVIDERS DO NOT TAKE
THESE COMPLAINTS SERIOUSLY AND
THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE DELAY
IN DIAGNOSIS.
EVEN WHEN THEY DO THE TESTING
THAT WE HAVE FOR BEING CANCER
UNFORTUNATELY IS SUBOPTIMAL.
TRADITIONALLY WE HAVE USED
COMBINATION OF AN ULTRASOUND
AND A TUMOR MARKER CALLED T 125
AND BUT WE HAVE KNOWN FOR A
LONG TIME THAT THIS COMBINATION
IS NOT OPTIMAL.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF FALSE
POSITIVES, A LOT OF FALSE
NEGATIVES.
AND MOST RECENTLY WE ALSO FOUND
OUT C1 25 ACTUALLY IS
PARTICULARLY POOR TEST FOR
WOMEN OF COLOR.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M SO EXCITED
THAT THERE'S NEW RESEARCH AND
NEW COMPANIES THAT
BETTER
BETTER TESTING WITH BETTER SENSITIVITY FOR ALL WOMEN, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN OF COLOR.
WOW, THAT'S PRETTY INTERESTING.
DR. NOW CHINTAN.
I WANT TO BRING YOU INTO THE
CONVERSATION.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHEN IT
COMES TO OUTREACH AND SPREADING
AWARENESS?
WELL, EXCUSE ME.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE
DOING IT WE'RE TEACHING WOMEN
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES,
TEACHING THEM HOW TO SHOW UP
FOR THEIR APPOINTMENTS AND HOW
TO HAVE A HEALTHY APPOINTMENT
BY BUILDING A RAPPORT WITH YOUR
PHYSICIANS.
BEING A PART OF YOUR CARE PLAN
AND ACTUALLY UTILIZING YOUR
VOICE AND KNOWING THAT IT'S OK
TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR QUESTIONS
AND ACTUALLY WHATEVER WE'RE
FEELING IN OUR BODIES WE'RE
SPEAKING UP AND WE'RE SAYING
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE FEELING.
WE'RE NOT DISMISSING OUR
SYMPTOMS OR OUR PAIN OR
ANYTHING LIKE THAT AND WE'RE
NOT ALLOWING ANYONE ELSE TO DO
THE SAME.
AND SO THE FOUNDATION ONE
OF THE THINGS WE DO AND THE
BIGGEST THING IS SUPPORTING AN
ADVOCACY CAUSE EDUCATION AND
AWARENESS, MAKING SURE THAT
WOMEN
THE
THE TOOLS
THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED THAT THEY'RE EQUIPPED TO TACKLE BATTLE.
ANYTHING THAT COME OUR WAY.
AND SO WHEN IT COMES TO THESE
HEALTH DISPARITIES AND ALL
OF THE POOR ACCESS TO CARE THAT
WE HAVE AND SOCIAL GROUP, THOSE
ARE SOME OF THE DISPARITIES
THAT WE FACE AND KNOWING THAT
WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU KNOW YOU DO
BETTER.
AND SO WE'RE HOLDING OURSELVES
ACCOUNTABLE AND WE'RE SHOWING
UP AND WE'RE SAYING WE'RE
DEMANDING THE HEALTH CARE THAT
WE NEED AND THAT WE DESERVE AND
WE'RE HOLDING OUR PHYSICIANS
ACCOUNTABLE AS WELL FOR THEM TO
DO THE SAME.
>> AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK
AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND THE
STATISTICS, I MEAN THEY'RE
PRETTY SHOCKING AND IT'S CLEAR
MORE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE.
DOCTOR, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE
BIGGEST OBSTACLES THAT THAT
PEOPLE ARE FACING WHEN IT COMES
TO THESE OVARIAN CANCER
DIAGNOSES?
SO THE OBSTACLES FOR EARLY
DETECTION.
THE OBSTACLES ARE ESPECIALLY IN
IN THE MINORITY POPULATIONS IS
THAT UNFORTUNATELY THESE WOMEN
DO NOT GET SURGERIES AND THEY
DO NOT FREQUENTLY GET CARE.
THAT IS THE MOST OPTIMAL CARE
FOR THEM.
SO THAT IS WHY IT'S SO
IMPORTANT THAT THIS EDUCATION
AND THIS AWARENESS IS DONE ON
SO MANY LEVELS THAT IT STARTS
WITH A GRANULAR LEVEL
OF PROVIDERS THEMSELVES FOR
ACCOUNTABILITY AND KNOWLEDGE
AND EXPERTIZE.
SO THEY KNOW SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
OF HAVING CANCER.
YOU KNOW, I HAVE A LOT
OF PATIENTS THAT COME TO SIX
DIFFERENT DOCTORS, SIX
DIFFERENT PROVIDERS BEFORE THEY
ARE FINALLY DIAGNOSED.
DON'T BE ONE OF THOSE
PROVIDERS.
YOU KNOW, LISTEN AND PAY
ATTENTION AND DON'T DISREGARD
SYMPTOMS BUT ALSO BE AWARE
OF THIS RACIAL DISPARITY.
YOU KNOW THE FIRST STEP TO
SOLVING THIS PROBLEM IS BEING
AWARE OF IT IS KNOWING IT.
AND WITH THAT WE CAN IMPROVE
THE CARE AND WE CAN LEVEL THE
FIELD.
>> ALL RIGHT.
DR. SHANAHAN, I WANT TO THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AND
TALKING ABOUT THIS TOPIC
BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE
KIND OF ELIMINATE THOSE RACIAL