Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month – New Treatment Advances at Penn

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer affects 1 in 57 women in the United States and two thirds of those diagnosed are age 55 or older. The fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, diagnosis is often made after the disease has progressed since there are typically no distinct symptoms in its early stages. The symptoms often associated with ovarian cancer include abdominal or pelvic pain, bloating, difficulty eating/feeling full quickly and urinary urgency or frequency. Penn Medicine is making the prevention, early detection, and treatment of ovarian cancer a priority.

Penn Medicine researchers are working every day to create new therapies and increase each woman’s chance for a cure. The Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC) is developing new approaches to treating ovarian cancer to improve survival rates and enable women affected by this disease to live a better quality of life.

The OCRC utilizes personalized immunotherapy, which is an innovative treatment approach using the patient’s own tumor to derive cancer vaccines and cell–based therapeutics. The OCRC is currently enrolling patients in three phase I/II clinical trials for patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

Learn more:
Gynecologic oncology services at Penn Medicine
Personalized immunotherapy
Clinical trials being done at Penn Medicine

Penn Medicine in Your Community

This fall, look for Penn Medicine at events throughout the Philadelphia region.

Do you live near Valley Forge? Visit Penn Medicine's Fall Fair on Saturday, September 22nd.
Live close to Woodbury, NJ? Stop by the Penn Medicine Woodbury Heights area at the First Annual Woodbury Fall Arts Fest on Saturday, September 29th.
A little closer to Radnor? Join Penn Medicine Radnor for the 35th Annual Radnor Run on Sunday, October 28th.

To learn more about where you can find Penn Medicine in your community and what free screenings will be offered at each event, visit the links below.

• Penn Medicine Valley Forge Fall Fair
• Woodbury Fall Arts Fest
• Penn Medicine Radnor Run

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Fortunately, there is a vast array of treatments available for those who develop prostate cancer.

Penn's Abramson Cancer Center has access to every treatment option for prostate cancer. When a patient comes to the Abramson Cancer Center, the individual prostate cancer is assessed by a multidisciplinary team of physicians specializing in urology, radiation oncology and medical oncology. Abramson Cancer Center experts come together to ensure that patients receive the treatment that is best suited for their individual case. Treatment options include but are not limited to:

• Active surveillance (sometimes called “watchful waiting”) 
• Radiation therapy, including proton therapy at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center 
• Radical prostatectomy, including robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery 
• Cryosurgery 

Through research, Penn's Abramson Cancer Center collaborates with Penn Radiation Oncology and Penn Urology to advance treatments for prostate cancer and find ways to combat the disease.

Learn more about prostate cancer care at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center at PennMedicine.org/prostatecancer 

Find out about proton therapy - the world's most advanced radiation treatment