WICHITA, Kansas, August 14, 2008 – Over 15,000 women will die from ovarian cancer this year and for the past 50 years nothing could be done to change that. But now comes a breakthrough in diagnosing one of the most deadly forms of cancer.

KSN met Sharon Goolsby one year ago. A five year ovarian cancer survivor, she was feeling great and had turned what could have been a death sentence into a life-changing mission to educate others about the disease.

"I was blindsided by a silent killer that's not a silent killer,” Goolsby said. “It does whisper so listen."

But little did Sharon or anyone else know that at the time of that first interview, a tumor had already started growing on the right side of her brain. By the end of the summer it was clear something was wrong.

"I didn't know when I started being silly,” she said. “But my sisters were concerned, my kids were concerned because I wasn't myself."

Brain surgery and chemo followed as Sharon’s battle with ovarian cancer intensified. She was diagnosed in 2002 despite classic symptoms and an astute doctor. She was stage 3 by that time and given only a 35 percent chance of living five years.

That’s the common diagnose with ovarian cancer and catching it in the early stages is nearly impossible.

"So far we have no way to find early ovarian cancer,” said Gyn-Oncologist Dr. Jed Delmore. “And the problem is it's the early cancers you can cure."

But now a new test being offered by Wichita physicians is offering new hope. It’s called Ovasure and early studies show it can predict ovarian cancer 95 percent of the time.

"If we can move more patients into the stage one category, because they're found earlier, the cure rate will be much better,” Dr. Delmore said.

Dr. Delmore says he’s waiting for more testing before he recommends Ovasure. But if it does what it’s supposed to, it could mean the lives of thousands of women could be spared.

There is an ovarian cancer walk on August 23rd at Sedgwick County Park. Registration begins that day at 8 a.m.

For more information on Ovasure, click on News Links.