Mobile testing clinic hopes to detect ovarian cancer early

Montrealers will start seeing a mobile clinic that will test women for ovarian cancer and hopefully detect the disease before it becomes deadly.

The Cedars Cancer Foundation announced $300,000 in funding for this mobile unit which will travel around the city and provide testing close to where women live and work.

"We haven't changed the cure rates for ovarian cancer in 30 years. The reason we can't make an impact on this disease is because we're diagnosing it too late," said Lucy Gilbert, the Director of Gynecological Oncology at the MUHC.

"But if women don't come to us we can't do anything, so we want to see if we can go to the women."

How the mobile clinic works

This mobile clinic, expected to deploy in several months, would be the first of its kind in the world, Cedars said in statement. It would be equipped with an ultrasound machine and blood test kits, and visit community centres, shopping centres and other popular venues.

Women would first receive a blood test, then return two weeks later for a second blood test and an ultrasound.

Ovarian cancer is known as a "silent killer" because symptoms are non-specific and thus hard to diagnose. Often, symptoms are simply ignored by patients and doctors alike.

The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that this year 2,800 Canadian women will be diagnosed with the disease, and 1,750 women will die from it.

One woman whose life was claimed by the cancer was Carole Epstein, a model and an author. The Carole Epstein Foundation for Ovarian Cancer, headed by Epstein's sister Wendy Katz, put up $150,000 of the money for the mobile unit.

Cedars is hosting a free public lecture on September 29 at 6 p.m. on ovarian cancer, focusing on prevention, diagnosis, and genetics. To register, go to cansupport.ca.