Toni Roberts was 58 when she began to experience gastrointestinal issues. She modified her diet and tried over-the-counter remedies, but her symptoms did not improve. She finally got a CT scan, which led to an urgent visit with her doctor. When he told her that she had ovarian cancer, she thought he had confused her with someone else.
Surgery and chemotherapy followed. Toni died four years after her diagnosis, leaving behind two heartbroken sons.
Every year, nearly 20,000 American women like Toni Roberts are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 13,000 die from the disease. Symptoms like bloating often go unaddressed for months. Most women are diagnosed with advanced disease, and 70% of these women will die within five years. Survival rates for Black and Hispanic women are even worse.
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