September is Ovarian Cancer Month. One of the most lethal cancers, it is difficult to detect and cure. Canadian genetics researchers are providing new hope in isolating the culprit gene.

"Our findings now provide tangible targets for effective drug development. Up to now, there has been little in the way of treatment options for this disease, which is one of the most lethal of cancers," Dr. Patricia Tonin, a cancer geneticist at McGill University Health Center in Montreal, said in a prepared statement.

"This model not only allows us to identify the specific human chromosome 3 genes responsible for affecting tumour growth, but also has great potential to pinpoint genes in the entire human genome that would be most affected by this process," added Tonin, who is also an associate professor of medicine and human genetics at McGill.

The research was published in the August issue of Oncogene.

"Ovarian cancer studies have shown the alteration of hundreds of genes. The challenge is to identify those genes that affect ovarian cancer from those which don't. Our model can be used to do just that, so that we can focus our attention on those genes most likely to affect tumour growth," Dr. Tonin said.

Ovarian cancer is not a huge problem in Bermuda. Patients Assistance League head Ann Smith Gordon said she knows of no one suffering with it at the moment.

Symptoms of the disease look like many other much less harmful diseases. Rachel Andrade at TB Cancer and Health warned that pap smears are not a test for this cancer.

The American Cancer Association lists back pain as the most common symptom, followed by fatigue, bloating, constipation, abdominal pain and urinary urgency. These symptoms tend to occur very frequently and become more severe with time. Most women with ovarian cancer have at least two of these symptoms.

Other symptoms, which tend to occur later in the course of the disease, are prolonged swelling of the abdomen, abdominal pain and cramping, a feeling of pelvic pressure, vaginal bleeding, and leg pain.

If there is reason to suspect you may have ovarian cancer, your doctor will use one or more methods to be absolutely certain that the disease is present and to determine its stage.