On Wednesday, we had another great FORCE “Positively Empowered” meeting. The weather was terrible, the roads were terrible and the turnout wasn’t great but those of us that were there had a really nice time. We could have stayed for hours. In fact when the meeting was over, we reconvened in the bathroom for a show and tell and ended up chatting an additional 20 minutes. I’m happy to show off my new perky breasts to anyone considering a mastectomy. I was never one to go to support group meetings but these are so much fun and I’ve met so many super women.

I’m so thankful for Whitney Ducaine at Beaumont for working so hard on these meetings. She gave a really great overview on the new diagnostic test for Ovarian Cancer—OvaSure. While some researchers felt this was the best invention since sliced bread, there is lots more work to be done. Whitney agrees completely and feels this is not yet a recommended diagnostic test. In the one study that was done, they did not look at any BRCA women which would have been a critical component in determining the effectiveness of the test. Whitney did a great job of showing us the limitations at this point.

From a patient’s point of view, it’s always hard to know who to trust, who to listen to and what studies to read. It’s especially difficult when well-respected research centers put out information that is highly contested. And the more questions you ask, the more confusing it can get. Luckily, research plunges forward and the more studies we have, the more we will know.