Happy New Year from The Rubino OB/GYN Group!

In each issue of our LifeCycles newsletter, we cover topics that are current, informative and important to your good health. This issue focuses on “New and Noteworthy” topics for the New Year.

      • Medical Facts: I Didn’t Know That!
      • Ovarian Cancer: Symptoms and Screening Tests
      • FDA Re-thinks Recommendations on Fish and Mercury Risks
      • Overcome Embarrassing Incontinence
      • Office Announcements

Medical Facts: I Didn’t Know That!

• Birth control pills reduce the incidence of uterine cancer by 80 percent and ovarian cancer by 50 percent. It is still unclear if the pill increases the risk for breast cancer.

• The PAP test for cervical cancer is the most successful cancer screening test in history.

• Gardasil, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for cervical cancer, is the first vaccine in history to combat cancer. 

• 60 percent of patients diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.  

Ovarian Cancer: Symptoms and Screening Tests

New screening test may break 'the silent disease'

Ovarian cancer has vague symptoms that patients may overlook, allowing it to progress in silence. Evidence shows that many women with ovarian cancer may experience the following symptoms:

• Abdominal pressure, fullness, swelling or bloating
• Urinary urgency or frequency
• Pelvic discomfort or pain

Although these symptoms may indicate a number of problems, it’s important to consult your physician if you experience any of them. Early detection is the key to better outcomes.

A new test may break the silence. Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine have developed a screening test to detect early stage ovarian cancer in high risk women -- those with a family history of ovarian cancer or a personal history of breast cancer. At this stage, the disease is localized and treatable.

In preliminary studies of high and average risk subjects, the test discriminated between women with the disease and those without it with a specificity of 99.4%. Additional studies are underway, and we will update you on the progress of this new test.

FDA Re-thinks Recommendations on Fish and Mercury Risks

Swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish have been considered to have the highest mercury content.

A New Policy?  

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now suggesting that the benefits of eating seafood and ingesting Omega-3 fatty acids outweigh the risk of mercury, even for pregnant women and children. That agency is urging the government to relax its long-standing advisory that women and children limit fish consumption.

In general, fish consumption is healthy. It is recommended to take precautions to avoid the fish noted above that may have high mercury contents and limit canned tuna fish to twice per week. 

Overcome Embarrassing Incontinence

• Stress incontinence: The most common type, it occurs when a person exerts stress on the bladder by laughing, exercising or heavy lifting. 
• Urge incontinence: Also known as “overactive bladder,” this condition is marked by the sudden and intense need to urinate, followed by a loss of urine because the bladder contracts even when it isn't full. 
• Overflow incontinence: This results in frequent or constant dripping of urine caused by an inability to empty the bladder, making it overflow and leak urine. 
• Mixed incontinence: This occurs when people have more than one type of incontinence. Some older women, for example, may have both urge and stress incontinence.

Why Suffer in Silence? 

The good news is incontinence is treatable. Audrey Romero, M.D., a Duke University trained Urogynecologist on our medical staff, performs urodynamic studies and offers treatments including behavioral changes, medications and surgery.

Simple surgical procedures include the vaginal sling to treat severe stress incontinence. This painless outpatient procedure is performed  though a small internal incision and does not require general anesthesia.
For more information or to schedule an appointment at any of our three locations, please call 973-736-1100 now.

Office Anouncements

Save Time With Our Online Appointments, Consultations and Personal Health Records

To schedule online appointments, consultations or view your personal health records at your convenience, just visit www.rubinoobgyn.com and click “appointments,” “online consult” or “personal health records” on the left side of the home page. You can also call 973-736-1100 now to schedule an appointment at any of our three locations.

Robert J. Rubino, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. • Audrey A. Romero, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
Elizabeth Lucarelli, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. • Lisa Abeshaus, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.

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