treatments & therapies
Treatment of ovarian cancer usually involves a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Using medications in combination with radiation therapy or surgery is called combined modality chemotherapy and is an approach often taken with cancer patients today.
surgery
If you are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the scope of the surgery you will require and the impact it may have on your future fertility is a function of your overall health and the extent to which your cancer has spread. For the 19% of women whose cancer is detected before it spreads beyond the ovaries, surgery may be limited to just the affected ovary or ovaries. For the majority of ovarian cancer diagnoses, however, cancer that has spread beyond the ovaries necessitates more extensive surgery.
Surgery for ovarian cancer has two main goals: staging and debulking. Staging the cancer determines the extent to which it has spread beyond the ovary, which in turn determines the appropriate course of treatment.
Types of surgery may include:
- Hysterectomy (removing the uterus)
- Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removing both ovaries and both fallopian tubes)
- Omentectomy (removing the omentum, an apron of fatty tissue covering the abdomen)
- Lymphectomy (removing the lymph nodes)
Samples of tissues and fluids collected during surgery will also be examined for cancer cells.
The other important component of surgery is debulking, which removes as much of the tumor as possible, leaving behind only the absolute minimum. With successful debulking, the prognosis for patients improves dramatically.
Having an experienced gynecologic oncologist perform your surgery can help ensure that your cancer is appropriately and effectively staged and debulked the first time. A typical hospital stay for ovarian cancer surgery can range from 3 to 7 days following the operation. Patients can usually resume normal activities within 4 to 6 weeks.
what is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is a term describing the use of chemical medications to interrupt cell division, resulting in cellular death of rapidly reproducing cells. Cells that reproduce quickly include cancer cells, cells at the root of one’s hair and cells lining the intestines and the reproductive tract. The newer the cell, the more responsive its mechanisms governing cellular growth and turnover are to chemotherapy.
On the other hand, the older a tumor is, the more generations of cellular division were involved in its makeup. In older tumors, the mechanisms governing cellular growth and turnover become less responsive to chemotherapy, which can prevent the chemotherapy from ever reaching the tumor’s core. Complicating matters further, scientists have learned that certain proteins within cancer cells also make the cells less responsive to chemotherapy over time.
Other chemotherapy facts:
- Chemotherapy can be delivered intravenously or orally.
- Combination therapy, the practice of combining multiple drugs with differing mechanisms of action (and therefore, different side effects), offers a multi-pronged approach to treatment that can help patients minimize the likelihood of developing a resistance to any one medication.
- Using medications in combination with radiation therapy or surgery is called combined modality chemotherapy, an approach often taken with cancer patients today.
what are common side effects of chemotherapy?
Naturally, you may be apprehensive about undergoing chemotherapy, especially after talking with others who have experienced it before. Keep in mind that what can be expected from chemotherapy, from the type, severity and duration of its side effects to its overall efficacy, will vary greatly from person to person.
The following list from the American Cancer Society includes the most commonly reported symptoms, but it’s important to remember that not everyone gets all of the symptoms:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Hair loss
- Fatigue
- Increased chance of bruising and bleeding
- Anemia
- Infection
Chemotherapy may also cause changes in other parts of your body:
- Intestinal problems
- Appetite and weight changes
- Sore mouth, gums and throat
- Nerve and muscle problems
- Dry and/or discolored skin
- Kidney and bladder irritation
- Sexuality and fertility issues due to effects on reproductive organs
Be sure to discuss your chemotherapy plan with your healthcare team so that you can learn more about:
- Which side effects you may be likely to experience
- Whether any of the side effects can be prevented with medication
- How long side effects might last
- How severe side effects may get
- How to determine whether or not your symptoms require medical attention
bringing strength to a sensitive situation
For certain women with ovarian cancer, the treatment can be just as difficult to tolerate as the disease. Hypersensitivity or allergic reactions to the prescribed medications or chemotherapy can stand in the way of proper treatment. Ovations for the Cure of Ovarian Cancer actively supports the Desensitization Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Through this extremely innovative program, women with ovarian cancer are able to overcome sensitivity to therapy and receive the treatment so vital to survival. After all, just because women are sensitive, it doesn’t mean they can’t be strong.
Click on the links below to download articles covering more information on this important topic.
When you're allergic to your RX
Carboplatin hypersensitivity
Rapid inpatient/outpatient desensitization for chemotherapy hypersensitivity
Rapid desensitization for hypersensitivity reactions to Paclitaxel and Docetaxel
