GILDA and GENE

First Wedding Anniversary

I had known that Gilda Radner died, at an obscenely early age, of ovarian cancer, but until now I had not realized that Gene Wilder and she were associated and that he spearheaded creation of the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Research Program at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles.  Linda, of course, would have known all about it, but lacking her it took Wilder’s death to alert me.  I have spent a frustrating hour trying to read about Wilder’s activism, but to little avail – obscenely irrelevant and obnoxious pop-ups invariably interrupt, just as I am making progress.  Damn capitalism, anyway!

But I seem to have determined that the poor diagnosis Radner experienced was the object of Wilder’s wrath.  Apparently Gilda complained for nearly a year of recognized OVCA symptoms: see

http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2012/09/ovarian-cancer-awarness-month-spread.html

She was told not to worry, apparently, and was offered neither a CA125 test nor an ultrasound.  When Medical Science finally caught on, she was stage IV.

Wilder says that neither he nor Gilda knew anything at all about OVCA symptoms.  Neither, apparently, did one or more doctors.  Those of you who do read this blog have no such excuse.  If your medical authority attempts to give you the brush-off you will, for God’s sake raise well- informed  hell!

Sometimes I wonder it primary care physicians aren’t unduly influenced by all the chatter about how much America spends on health care.  “Ultrasound and CA125 analysis cost money:  maybe we should just wait and see.  After all, there are only 21,000 or so new OVCA cases yearly, out of more than 100 million American women, so the odds are good”.  Please join me in saying, SCREW THAT!

Life is a lot more important than money.

So, I keep coming back to the thought that early detection is, perhaps, the most important current line of OVCA research.  It happens that Linda’s cancer might have been diagnosed early, but for an all-to-human medical error.  When she was diagnosed four months later she was stage IIIc.  She “let go of it (that fact)”, and thus so must I – but sometimes I find that hard to do.

So, thanks, Gene, for your help.  We’ll get the bastard yet!