When an ovarian cyst ruptured in February, Dana Mizgate was rushed to the hospital and misdiagnosed with a gallbladder infection. Feeling that it was something more serious, Dana followed up with her general practitioner and was taken back to the hospital where follow-up exams showed fluid around the ovaries. After the discovery and removal of the cyst, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was immediately put on medication to stop cell growth.

“I watched my grandmother, my mother and my aunt all battle this horrible cancer,” says Dana. “I thought if it could happen to me, I wouldn’t be 21-years-old, I would be a little bit older.”

Because her cancer was caught before it reached advanced stages, she was able to skip chemo entirely and treat her cancer with a pill to limit cell growth, an increased dose of birth control pills and frequent ovarian exams. In cases like Dana’s, where ovarian cancer is caught before it’s spread to other parts of the body, the chance of survival is more than 90% and the likelihood of undergoing noninvasive treatments increases exponentially. The best way to catch ovarian cancer early is to make sure your annual pap smear includes an internal exam: Don’t be afraid to bring up the “C” word to your general practitioner if you experience any symptoms, and let your general practitioner as well as your gynecologist know if you have any history of ovarian cancer in your family.

Cervical Cancer
Ready for some good news? This cancer is slow-moving, detectable and easily treated if caught in its early stages. More good news? Researchers have discovered a vaccine for the most common cause of cervical cancer, the sexually-transmitted disease Human Papillomavirus (HPV). When this FDA-approved vaccine called Gardisil is made available to women, cervical cancer rates should drop dramatically low.