A while back I wrote a blog titled “Pretty Common Ovary Situation”. I was trying to be humorous, but at the same time drive home the message that the name for this collection of symptoms is confusing yet approximately 5 million American women share the diagnosis. Today I stumbled upon an article that reported that just three months ago on January 23, 2013, the National Institute of Health invited experts to come together and discuss whether PCOS should be renamed. Panelists agreed that the current name is confusing (you think?) because women don’t need to have cysts to have PCOS nor is the presence of cysts without any other symptoms enough to make a diagnosis.

The challenge is to increase awareness about this disease (that is caused by an imbalance of  hormones) in order to promote early detection and treatment. PCOS is often misunderstood, yet both young and adult women are at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Many agree that a new name should reflect the symptoms which (besides tiny cysts on the ovary), include irregular periods, acne, weight gain, and for some, infertility.

Although the task of renaming PCOS was brought to the attention of medical experts, they were unable to decide on a new name. Apparently, the panelists plan to hold another meeting in the near future and invite representatives from both professional organizations and lay groups to help them identify a new and broader name that would reflect the other symptoms and demystify the diagnosis. Whatever is decided, it’s still very important that we continue raise awareness about PCOS.

Do you have any thoughts about a new name for PCOS? Please comment below.

-Nurse Phaedra