CONTACT: Susan Hall

214.820.1817

susanh@baylorhealth.edu

Janeen Browning

469.814.2107

janeenbr@baylorhealth.edu

(PLANO, TEXAS Aug. 12, 2009) Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, observed in September, is devoted to increasing public awareness about ways to prevent, detect and treat gynecologic cancers. Six forms of cancer affecting a woman’s reproductive organs comprise the gynecologic cancer group: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, vulvar, and fallopian tube cancer, and according to the Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention, 75,144 women were diagnosed with gynecologic cancer in 2005. Dennis Eisenberg, M.D., gynecologist on the Baylor Plano medical staff, distinguishes between the various types of gynecologic cancer and provides insight on risk factors for developing gynecologic cancer.

• Cervical cancer is the growth of abnormal cells in the cervix, the narrow section of the uterus that leads to the vagina. Cervical cancer risk factors are numerous with the greatest being smoking, early age of first intercourse, large number of sex partners, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and HPV (human papillomavirus).
• Ovarian cancer is a malignant <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant> tumor <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor> on or within an ovary <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovary> . The greatest risk of ovarian cancer is family history. Not having been pregnant is also a risk factor.
• Uterine cancer is cancer of the uterus. Uterine and endometrial cancer risk factors include obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, menopause at a late age, and the use of medications such as birth control pills, estrogen and tamoxifen use.
• Vaginal cancer is cancer of the vagina. Vaginal cancer may be linked to HPV.
• Vulvar cancer refers to an abnormal, cancerous growth in the external, female genitalia. Like vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer may be linked to HPV.
• Fallopian tube cancer is cancer of the slender tube through which eggs pass from an ovary to the uterus. In the female reproductive tract, there is one ovary and one fallopian tube on each side of the uterus. Scientists don't know whether any environmental or lifestyle factors increase the risk of fallopian tube cancer. Researchers are looking at the possibility that there might be some inherited links in developing the illness.

Learn about how advanced robotic technology is transforming gynecological surgery.

Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano is a 112-bed acute care hospital committed to serving North Texas residents with personalized care and advanced technology on a beautiful campus with hotel-like amenities and all private rooms. Services at the not-for-profit, fully-accredited facility include treatment for advanced spine deformities at the Baylor Scoliosis Center, neurosciences, orthopaedics, medical and radiation oncology, surgical weight loss, women’s services, gynecology, urology, gastroenterology, pulmonary medicine, sleep disorders, pain management, diabetes management and more. Patients have access to digital imaging onsite at Baylor Plano and at the Baylor Diagnostic Imaging Center at Craig Ranch, an outpatient department of Baylor Plano. The hospital is the first in North Dallas and Collin County to offer minimally invasive robotic surgery for gynecology and prostate procedures through the FDA-approved da Vinci® S Surgical System. The hospital has won several quality awards including the Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award of Excellence and is designated a Nurse-Friendly™ hospital by Texas Nurses Association. Jerri Garison is president of Baylor Plano. For fiscal year 2008, Baylor Health Care System reported $429.5 million* in community benefit, which includes providing care for charity patients and patients enrolled in government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the unreimbursed costs of medical education, research and community programs.

*Represents preliminary information that will be reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System¹s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano or Baylor Health Care System.