Free cancer screening clinic opens
Valérie Ouellette knew something wasn’t right, but she pushed the worry aside until the symptoms could no longer be ignored. When she finally saw a specialist, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Ouellette was one of the lucky ones. The cancer was diagnosed at Stage 1 and her operation was a success.
Ouellette, 60, spoke during the inauguration of the West Island DOvEE clinic at the West Island Cancer Wellness Centre in Kirkland on May 17. The clinic gives free tests for ovarian and endometrial cancers. It is the seventh DOvEE clinic to open in the Greater Montreal region since Dr. Lucy Gilbert established the program in 2008.
Gilbert is the director of the gynecology-oncology division at the Royal Victoria Hospital. The clinic is affiliated with the McGill University Health Centre.
“It was fear that kept me from going to get tested,” Ouellette told the gathering.
DOvEE fast-tracks the testing. Ovarian and endometrial cancers can go undetected because early symptoms are mild and often ignored.
Of the women affected by these cancers, 70 per cent will not be diagnosed until Stage 3 or 4, reducing their chances for survival. The survival rate for late diagnosis is 10 to 30 per cent. The survival rate for early diagnosis is 93 per cent.
“Most women take bleeding seriously, but what they don’t take seriously is bloating,” Gilbert said. “Every day, I deal with advanced cancer and the surgery, chemotherapy and radiation that follows. With early detection, there is a simple surgery.”
Gilbert said she believes many women don’t get tested because the conventional testing process is protracted: go to your doctor, get a referral for a specialist, wait for an ultrasound, wait for a followup.
At a DOvEE clinic, the exam is free, no referral is necessary and appointments are booked quickly. During the first visit, a medical history is taken, followed by a blood test and an ultrasound. A second blood test is taken six weeks after the first visit. The clinic follows up with a patient six months later.
To visit a DOvEE clinic you must be at least 50 years old, have at least one ovary and have experienced at least one symptom for more than two weeks and less than one year. The symptoms include feeling full quickly, abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, frequent urination and vaginal discharge or bleeding.
Gilbert described the joining of the DOvEE clinic with the West Island Cancer Wellness Centre as “a marriage of minds.” The WICWC helps cancer patients deal with the emotional, physical and spiritual challenges of living with cancer.
Ouellette first noticed some bloody discharge when she was 58. She went to her doctor and had a painful pelvic exam. There was a polyp. She paid for an ultrasound and was told she needed surgery, but had trouble booking a date.
She was reluctant to go for a followup. It was only after she heard about DOvEE from a friend that she made an appointment. By then, the symptoms had worsened. She was diagnosed with cancer in January and operated on in March. On April 21, she was told she was cancer-free.
“Seven weeks after my operation, I would like to thank Dr. Gilbert and the whole team,” Ouellette said as the room erupted in applause.
Dr. Jing Feng is in charge of testing patients at the Kirkland clinic. She will be there once a week. Depending on the demand, the schedule could expand to two days a week.
For information about the DOvEE clinic, call 514-934-1934, ext. 44482, email dovee.obsgyn@mcgill.ca or visit mcgill.ca/dovee.
For more about the West Island Cancer Wellness Centre, call 514695-9355 or visit wicwc.org.