Kevin Hart’s mother is trending. Nancy Hart died of ovarian cancer in January 2007 at age 56, but she’s racking up fans thanks to Hart’s new Netflix docuseries, “Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up,” in which he credits his single mom with keeping him “too busy to get into trouble” when he was young. The outpouring of love is bringing new attention to ovarian cancer, which is notoriously difficult to treat.
“She had more strength and fight in her than any woman I’ve ever met,” Hart says in the special. He and his brother were raised in a tough neighborhood and struggled, but his mom would work to make things special, as seen in a clip of a gorgeous Christmas spread with a tree and many presents for her two young sons.
Read MoreAlexa (@lucy_dre) December 20, 2019
I just want to say thank you man for this what a great documentary so inspiring . Thank you Kev! Much love and respect to your family and REST IN PEACE NANCY HART â¤ï¸????????????!!
JWD???????????? (@JWD_BING) December 28, 2019
Losing his mom, he told Oprah in a 2014 interview, “has been real tough.”
According to Variety. when Hart decided he wanted to do stand-up, his mother agreed to pay his rent for a year, and “was so invested in her son's success that she swore her family to secrecy after learning she had terminal cancer in 2007” so that Hart would go shoot "Fool's Gold" in Australia.
Her death, it said, left him “shattered.”
‘The Cancer That Whispers’
Ovarian cancer has been called the “cancer that whispers” because women do not experience symptoms until the cancer is in an advanced stage and difficult to treat. Dr. Beth Karlan, a gynecological oncologist at UCLA medical center, says ovarian cancer actually begins in the fallopian tubes, with a few cancerous cells.
"As the fallopian tubes brush over the ovary, the cells that become cancers stick to the ovaries," said Dr. Karlan, which results in ovarian cancer.
Symptoms include abdominal bloating or swelling, quickly feeling full while eating, weight loss, pelvic discomfort or pain, constipation, or a frequent need to urinate — but they’re so non-specific that the disease often goes undetected .
According to Dr. Karlan, "The most common type of ovarian cancer, typically occurs around the time of menopause, in the fifth decade."
RELATED: Why Is Ovarian Cancer Detected So Late?
In fact, about half of ovarian cancers occur in women over age 60, and they are often diagnosed at later stages. In terms of total risk, one woman out of every 71 (approximately 1.4%) will develop ovarian cancer at some point in her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. Ovarian cancers, like so many other cancers, are best and most easily treated if caught early.
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