IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors have officially declared September 2022 as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in Johnson County. Patient Advocate Bridget Toomey received the declaration from the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in memory of her late mother who died from ovarian cancer in 2016.
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women and is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers, with a five-year survival rate of 46 percent. Because of the location of the ovaries in the body, most ovarian cancers are not diagnosed until the late stages. Additionally, there is no screening test for ovarian cancer. A pap smear does not detect ovarian cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 14,000 women will die from ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2021. The designation of September as Ovarian Cancer Month.