Pink ribbons are an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. The yellow ribbon is used as a sign of support for military troops.

Lynda Benning, a Vernal resident, wishes ovarian cancer had an icon that would encourage support for research and testing of the fifth most common cancer among women.

Twelve years ago, Benning’s sister died of the disease that is often called the “silent killer.” Now Benning is supporting the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance in wearing the color teal for Ovarian Cancer Month in September.

“She knew something was wrong,” Benning said of her sister, Debbie Johnson, “But it took her two years to get a proper diagnosis. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.”

Because symptoms of ovarian cancer are nonspecific and often mimic those of many other more common conditions, Johnson was not the first, nor will she probably be the last, who is diagnosed with another condition before finally learning she has cancer.

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” Benning explained. “September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. We want Congress to recognize it and give it the kind of publicity and funding needed.”

As a legal secretary, Johnson worked with lawyers on a daily basis. As her symptoms worsened these employers took an interest in why she could not get a diagnosis. Eventually, the attorneys sought answers from doctors who came in for legal advice.

Ultimately, a physician asked for Johnson’s number and after hearing the details of her ailments, he scheduled a meeting for the next day.

“The head of gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was her doctor,” Benning explained. “She was given extra care.”

Diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer, the 33-year-old was not supposed to live more than two years. With determination and excellent care, she was 38 when she died.

“She kept her sense of humor until the end,” Benning said of her sister. “Every year she would tell us we had to buy her a good Christmas gift, because it might be the last chance we had. Once when she had really bad jaundice, she would make us look at her eyes. They were yellow and she’d say, “Aren’t they a pretty color?”

Benning doesn’t want the tale of her sister’s death to be a “sob story.”

“I want people to become educated about the signs of this disease,” she said. “It makes sense that we as a nation would recognize the need for education and research for both breast cancer and ovarian cancer.”

Ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly of women’s cancers. Each year, approximately 21,880 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In 2010, approximately 13,850 U.S. women will die from it.

Many women don’t seek help until the disease has begun to spread, but if detected at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is more than 93 percent. Recent research suggests that together the four symptoms of bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and urinary urgency or frequency may be associated with ovarian cancer.

The cause of this disease is unknown. The risk for developing ovarian cancer appears to be affected by several factors. The more children a woman has and the earlier in life she gives birth, the lower her risk for ovarian cancer. Certain genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) are responsible for a small number of ovarian cancer cases.

Women with a personal history of breast cancer or a family history of breast or ovarian cancer have an increased risk for ovarian cancer. Older women are at the highest risk. About two-thirds of the deaths from ovarian cancer occur in women age 55 and older. About 25 percent of ovarian cancer deaths occur in women ages 35-54.

For more information about this disease, go to www.ovariancancer.org.