MAY I address an open letter to all the candidates for the Southampton Unversity Hospital Board.
My wife died two years ago from ovarian cancer.
Recent news reports suggest that a success rate for early treatment could be as high as 90 per cent.
During her treatment CA125 was used extensively to monitor her progress. On asking how CA125 worked I was told it detected a chemical that tumours produced.
My question isthis:- If early detection of ovarian cancer can produce a 90 per cent success rate why isn't it used earlier to direct the medical profession in the general direction to diagnose cancer than the current system where staff blunder about until finally arriving at the correct diagnpsis too late and decreasing the success rate to 30 per cent?
MIKE, Southampton.
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