ovarian cancer treatment | Ovarian Cancer treatments

Ovarian Cancer treatments



If you are suffering from ovarian cancer, your healthcare team will develop a treatment plan specifically for you. This plan will be based on your health status and information specific to cancer. When your healthcare team decides what treatments you propose for ovarian cancer, it takes the following into consideration:

The stadium
The Grade
The type of tumor
If you want to wear children one day
You may be offered one or more of the following treatments for ovarian cancer.

Surgery
Surgery is the primary treatment of ovarian cancer, regardless of the stage and type.

The most commonly performed operation is total hysterectomy with bilateral pelvic-oophorectomy. During surgery, the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes are removed. The surrounding lymph nodes, omentum and all other tissues that appear abnormal at the time of surgery are sometimes removed.

Pelvic-oophorectomy can be unilateral (i.e. the ovary and fallopian tube is removed on one side) or bilateral (i.e., the two ovaries and the two fallopian tubes are removed).

In tumor reduction surgery, the majority of the cancer is removed from the abdomen.

During a kystectomie, only the cyst containing the tumor is removed and the rest of the ovary is left intact.

Some surgical procedures can be used to relieve the symptoms of advanced ovarian cancer.

ChemotherapyChemotherapy is proposed before or after surgery to treat certain types and stages of ovarian cancer.

Chemotherapy can also be administered to relieve pain or to control the symptoms of ovarian cancer (this is referred to as palliative chemotherapy).

Hormone therapySome women with low-grade ovarian cancer may receive hormone therapy rather than chemotherapy after surgery.

Targeted treatmentSome women with ovarian epithelial cancer or early-stage primitive peritoneal carcinoma may receive targeted treatment, with or without chemotherapy.

Radiotherapy
Radiation therapy is not commonly used to treat ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer often touches many organs in the abdomen, while radiation therapy should be directed to a small area. Radiation therapy can be used after surgery if a woman cannot receive chemotherapy due to her age or health problems. It can also be used to treat small areas where the cancer has reappeared (relapse) or has spread, or to control the symptoms of advanced ovarian cancer.

If you can not or do not want to receive cancer treatment
You might want to consider care that aims to make you feel better without treating the cancer itself, perhaps because cancer treatments no longer work, it is no longer likely that they will improve your condition or that their side effects are Difficult to tolerate. Other reasons may explain why you may not or don't want to receive cancer treatment.

Talk to the members of your healthcare team. They can help you choose the care and treatment of advanced cancer.

FollowedFollow-up after treatment is an important component of care for people with cancer. You will need regular follow-up visits, especially during the first five years after the end of the treatment. These visits will allow the care team to monitor your progress and find out how you are recovering from treatment.

Clinical trialsSome clinical trials of ovarian cancer are underway in Canada and accept participants. The aim of the clinical trials is to find new methods for the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer. Learn more about clinical trials

Questions to ask about treatmentIn order to make the right decisions for you, ask questions about the treatment to your care team.