Ovarian Cancer Journal

(Of men, women, DNA and ovarian cancer)

At it’s very basis, ovarian cancer is a disease of the genes, DNA gone awry. There are known risk factors, but the vast majority of women who die from this disease do not have those risk factors. Yet something tells their bodies to take the beautiful creation that is an ovary, one-half of the artistic pair that produces the miracle of life, and turn savagely upon itself. Those cells capable of such beauty and awe then become monsters, gradually recruiting all the other normal cells surrounding them to do their awful bidding. Over time, the ovary becomes misshapen, growing wildly out of control, spreading, breaking into fragments and scattering throughout the abdominal cavity. By the time of diagnosis, most women are at the stage where their bellies are large with tumor and fluid, looking pregnant without the rosy glow of new life, impending death cruelly mocking the beauty of birth.

Clare O Hagan and Denise Wyllie, two talented British artists, have looked for the beauty in the ovary, as a way to defray some of the horror that accompanies ovarian cancer. They have spent years researching the physical characteristics of DNA and transforming it into art. In their search for images of DNA, they found in the Cambridge University library something that inspired and enraged them at the same time. I had the opportunity to spend some time with Clare, and she told me this amazing story.

Rosalind Franklin was a young Cambridge researcher who was the first to produce x-ray images of DNA, which clearly described the double-helical structure that allowed Crick and Watson to build the structure and eventually receive the Nobel Prize. She was a rarity among women and students, receiving a PhD at a time when women were not accepted into the undergraduate studies programs at Cambridge. Crick and Watson never acknowledged the vital importance of Dr. Franklin’s discovery, instead commenting about “Rosy” as they called her, that “the best home for a feminist is in another person’s lab.” Sadly, Dr. Franklin died at the age of 37 from ovarian cancer four years before the Nobel Prize was awarded for the DNA structure discovery, a relative unknown.

O Hagan and Wyllie reeled when they read this. O Hagan was in the throes of battling ovarian cancer herself. The discovery of Franklin’s “Photo 51”, the defining image of the DNA structure, inspired the two artists and provided direction and energy for their efforts. Last year, they presented their artwork at the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance in Atlanta. One of their pieces, based on Franklin’s work, was awarded to Barbara Goff, MD, an ovarian cancer researcher.

This year, we are fortunate to have O Hagan and Wyllie’s work on display here in Greenville, at the Daly Designs studio in Main Street. O Hagan was the guest at a reception on Friday, September 1, 2006, which served as an awareness event and fund-raiser for the South Carolina Ovarian Cancer Foundation, housed in Greenville. September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. Any of the artists’ works purchased during September will benefit the Foundation, with 80% of the proceeds being donated.

The statistics on ovarian cancer are dismal: Of the 25,000 women diagnosed each year, close to 17,000 will die, a 75% mortality rate. There is no routine screening or accurate early detection mechanism. Women with breast cancer are at higher risk for ovarian cancer; nonetheless, at the end of 5 years, 80% of women with breast cancer will be alive, while 80% of those with ovarian will be dead.

Awareness is the only current tool for helping women get diagnosed early, when they may have a 90% chance of survival. It is imperative that women realize that most often, ovarian cancer mimics gastrointestinal problems, and results in time being wasted before a correct diagnosis is finally made. The only way to diagnose ovarian cancer is with a CA125 blood test, a transvaginal ultrasound, and, finally, surgery to obtain a specimen for pathology testing.

The insidious symptoms most women have for 3-4 months or longer before diagnosis: bloating, constipation or other change in bowel habits, abdominal fullness, nausea, abdominal/pelvic pain, and in younger women, irregular menses. Since many women experience these symptoms at some time in their lives, it is important that they not be ignored if lasting for more than two weeks and not otherwise explained. Women should always insist that their physician consider ovarian cancer early in the diagnostic process rather than as a last resort.

Our slogan is apt: “Until there’s a test, awareness is best.” And in reality, it is all we have right now. Please pass it on to women you know and love – sisters, daughters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, cousins, girlfriends, wives – they are all at risk. And give if you can to help spread the word.

The work of artists O Hagan and Wyllie can be accessed online at http://www.wyllieohagan.com, as well as viewed through the end of September at Daly Designs, 640 S. Main Street, Studio 103.

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