Nearly half of Americans are unfamiliar with their family’s cancer history

Forty-eight percent of Americans are unfamiliar with their family’s cancer history, our research reveals.

Our survey of 2,000 Americans, conducted to highlight Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, found that 42% of women and 54% of men were unclear on many of their relatives’ medical history.

Twenty-two percent of the 1,000 women surveyed felt confident they know who has or hasn’t had cancer in their family but were unsure of the actual type.

A fifth of women surveyed (20%) didn’t know at all their family’s cancer history, and just 46% of the 1,000 women surveyed felt confident they were up to date fully with all their health checks,

When asked to cite the reasons for not being up to date on health checks, anxiety and fear were the common responses with 30% of women who are not up to date naming this as their driving factor. Being too busy (24%), and feeling physically uncomfortable with the process 21% were also prominent reasons given for not being up to date on health checks.

A photo by the National Cancer Institute showing a person holding another person's hand in support

Gerard Ledesma, who sadly recently lost his wife to ovarian cancer, spoke about his experience:

“The loss of a dearly beloved due to ovarian cancer is a very painful lesson to learn about how deadly this type of cancer can be. My son and I are grateful for the opportunity to have cared for her as she fought this dreaded disease. Gina showed courage and faith that she would recover as we did, but her chances of survival were stacked up against her due to the late and advanced stage of diagnosis.

Since there is no cure for any late stage and advanced diagnosis for Ovarian cancer or any form of cancer, the only options are prevention and early detection through heightened awareness and education.

The feeling of hopelessness seeing your precious and dearly beloved suffer, and being powerless to do anything is the most unimaginably painful suffering we do not want anyone else to ever have to go through.

To honor Gina and countless others who have succumbed to ovarian cancer, as we heal from this tragedy and to prevent others from experiencing this, we will embark on a mission to raise heightened awareness and education as early detection increases the survival rate significantly. Thus, routine screening to increase chances of early detection is a must to avoid late diagnosis.”

The survey results also highlighted a lack of awareness and understanding in ovarian cancer – one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women.

Clara MacKay, CEO of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, said:

“Ovarian cancer is one of the most serious gynecological cancers, often because it’s diagnosed at a late stage, making it more difficult to treat. But when it’s caught early, before it spreads, the chance of successful treatment increases significantly. This makes knowing and recognizing the symptoms crucial.

If any of these symptoms are persistent (meaning they don’t come and go), visit your primary health care professional. Awareness can lead to a more rapid diagnosis with potentially better outcomes. Our 2018, Every Woman Study, found that the more women knew about ovarian cancer, the more likely they were to seek medical advice when symptoms arose. The more rapidly a woman is diagnosed, the sooner she can start treatment—and the more likely the treatment will be tolerated, potentially improving her quality of life.

Don’t hesitate to push for answers if something doesn’t feel right. Many women delay bringing up concerns because they feel uncomfortable, or fear being dismissed. However, advocating for yourself is crucial when it comes to your health and ovarian cancer. If you’re noticing persistent symptoms, be proactive—ask your doctor for further tests or a referral if necessary. You know your body best, and advocating for your health could lead to a more rapid diagnosis.”

Here are four key facts everyone should know about ovarian cancer:

A Pap test does not detect ovarian cancer.
While Pap tests are vital for detecting cervical cancer, they do not screen for ovarian cancer. If you’re experiencing concerning symptoms, bring them up during your gynecological appointment.

Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late.
Since there’s no routine screening for ovarian cancer, it is usually found after it has spread, making it harder to treat. Awareness of symptoms can play a huge role in getting diagnosed earlier.

Diagnosing ovarian cancer before it spreads makes it much more treatable.
The sooner it’s caught, your chances of survival increases significantly by receiving effective treatment.

Knowing the symptoms.
While ovarian cancer can be challenging to catch early, knowing the symptoms can make a huge difference in availing routine screening for early detection:
Persistent bloating
Difficulty eating
Feeling full quickly
Pelvic or abdominal pain
Urinary symptoms (such as urgency or frequency)

For more resources, you can find a World Ovarian Cancer Coalition partner organization near you at partners.worldovariancancercoalition.org

To learn about the chances of enhancing early detection, visit this page on the American Cancer Society site.

Survey methodology

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans. The survey was commissioned by Talker News and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between June 21 and June 24, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.

Images by Briana Tozour and the National Cancer Institute via Unsplash