Ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer

Teal is the color ribbon for ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer. Here is the ornament I stitched for these cancers:

One of my directors, Keith ( in charge of golf & fundraising, sometimes at the same time) lost his mother Caroline to ovarian cancer. This ornament is in honor of her.
Now, here are some details about ovarian cancer:
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 21,650 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during 2008. Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in women.
A woman’s risk of getting invasive ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 71. Her lifetime chance of dying from invasive ovarian cancer is about 1 in 95. (These statistics do not count low malignant potential ovarian tumors.)
This cancer mainly develops in older women. Around two-thirds of women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 55 or older. It is slightly more common in white women that African-American women.
The ovarian cancer incidence rate has been slowly falling over the past 20 years. The incidence rate is a precise way for scientists to describe how common or rare a disease is and is defined as the number of new cases diagnosed each year per 100,000 women.
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. It is estimated that there will be about 15,520 deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States during 2008.
About 3 in 4 women with ovarian cancer survive at least 1 year after diagnosis. Almost half (45%) of women with ovarian cancer are still alive at least 5 years after diagnosis (this is called the 5-year survival rate). Women younger than 65 have better 5-year survival rates than older women. If ovarian cancer is found (and treated) before the cancer has spread outside the ovary, the 5-year survival rate is 92%. However, less than 20% of all ovarian cancers is found at this early stage.
In addition to ovarian cancer, teal represents cervical and uterine cancers. One of the simplest and best ways to check and prevent or keep the cancer from spreading is a yearly well woman exam.
Now that being said, I have a confession. This well educated blogger who tries to stay on top of her other health issues and is no stranger to her physician's office, has not had a gyn exam or a pap smear in SEVERAL years. Even though her insurance now has a no out of pocket exam fee policy in effect. She has not gone for a FREE exam yet, even though she promised herself and her friends and family that she would do this in 2008 (and has promised again to do this in 2009).
Why, you may ask? I don't know. I simply don't know. Like I said, I go to my regular physician all the time.
So get out your wet noodles. This year I must go.
AND SO MUST YOU. No woman should needlessly die from any of these diseases!