Deep down you know what it is. Deep down, you know it's cancer, but your mind won't allow it to be spoken, somehow. The evening before, I'd received a phone call from the surgeon's secretary. Would I please report to the hospital at lunchtime the following day. Mr. Sullivan would like a word.

Ovarian cancer is an especially deadly form of cancer because it often goes undetected until it spreads to a vital organ and disrupts the organ's functioning. Thus, it earned the name "silent killer." While an estimated 13,580 women have passed away in 2010 due to cervical cancer, this number is gradually decreasing. Doctors and researchers believe that the increasing use of oral contraceptives plays a role in ovarian cancer's decrease.