NORFOLK, Va. — September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, and the Hampton Roads-based nonprofit Project Nana is spreading awareness about the cancer risks postmenopausal women face with the annual Seasoned Women’s Health Summit. The three-day summit includes health education, a 5K walk, and a Saturday morning awards breakfast where the inaugural Gwen Ifill Seasoned Women’s Champion Award will be granted. Ifill, a beloved and groundbreaking journalist, died of endometrial cancer— the same type of cancer that ended Project Nana founder Vanessa Hill’s grandmother’s life.
“If you educate a nana, you educate a family, and you educate a community,” said Hill. “That is what is going to take to make a difference and an impact not only in early-stage diagnosis of cancer, but hopefully to push the research to prevent it.”
Watch: Post-menopausal women at increased risk for gynecologic cancers
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age of diagnosis for most gynecologic cancers is over the age of 60. For example, the average age of diagnosis is 63 for uterine and ovarian cancer; 67 for cancer of the vagina and vulva; and 50 for cervical cancer.
However, Hill said cancers in postmenopausal women are more likely to be diagnosed in late stages because doctors are not continuing to provide or encourage pelvic exams after a woman’s childbearing years.
“Post-menopausal women unfortunately sometimes get lost in routine care because they feel […] if they’re not having children any longer, they do not have to see the gynecologist,” said Dr. Keisha Burfoot, an obstetrician-gynecologist based in Norfolk. “Sometimes it’s not clear to them from their primary care physician that they should continue to see a gynecologist in the post-menopausal years.”
Watch: "Take Nana to the Doctor Week" focuses on increased cancer risk in older women
Dr. Burfoot said post-menopausal women should be seen by a gynecologist or have a routine pelvic exam by their primary care physician about every two years. A lack of pelvic exams and inquiries about reproductive organs after can cause warning signs of cancer to be missed by doctors, leading to late-stage diagnoses once it’s detected.
Dr. Burfoot said post-menopausal bleeding is usually the first sign that something is wrong in the uterine cavity.
“I will hear a lot of older women saying, 'Oh, I had a period again,'” said Dr. Burfoot. “Once you go through menopause, you should never see blood again.”
Watch: 'Walk to End Breast and Gynecologic Cancers' kicks off Sunday at Waterside
This summit kicked of Thursday at The Hamptons Golf Course in Hampton for the Project Nana Golfing for the Gals charity fundraiser. The event—a partnership between the North Carolina-based Golfing for the Gals nonprofit, First Tee, Bon Secours, Sentara and Humana— shared education about gynecologic cancers at every hole.
“If you're displaying any kinds of symptoms, go to the gynecologist!” exclaimed Lisa Milligan, who founded Golfing for the Gals after surviving endometrial cancer in 2017. “You have to, because it could be life or death.”
To learn more about the remaining events this week, visit the Project Nana website.
