Ovarian Cancer: Treatment and Support

Finding out you have cancer can feel like the end of the world, but it isn’t.

Nearly half of ovarian cancer sufferers survive to 5 years after their diagnosis, and some also manage to have healthy children naturally.

After diagnosis, your doctor will discuss the different treatment options with you. If your tumour is at an early stage, you will probably have more treatment options than if it was discovered later.

Some of the treatment options your doctor might suggest are:

Surgery

As well as being a method of prevention, surgery to remove an ovarian tumour is usually the first treatment method after a patient receives their diagnosis. The surgery is called ‘debulking’ because it attempts to remove or reduce the tumour as much as possible.

There are different types of surgery, and the one needed depends on the type of tumour that you have. Sometimes surgery is needed to distinguish which type of tumour is being operated on, so you might have to wait until afterwards to find out.

For later-stage tumours, the surgery is likely to be removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Removal of both ovaries will result in immediate infertility, so young women should discuss their fertility options beforehand.

Surgery is both a method of prevention and the first line of treatment for ovarian cancer.

Fertility Preservation

If the necessary treatment will affect your reproductive organs, fertility preservation might be possible.

For young women who are planning on getting pregnant in the future, an ovarian cancer diagnosis can add the stressful thought that this may no longer be possible.

If possible, fertility preservation involves freezing eggs to be fertilised in-vitro later (IVF) or preservation of the uterus and one or both ovaries.

If fertility preservation is not possible, there are still ways you can become pregnant. Donated eggs or a spare embryo from another family’s successful IVF can be implanted in the uterus, even if both ovaries are lost during cancer treatment.

You might also decide to adopt or use a surrogate.

Voice any concerns to your doctor, who will refer you to a fertility specialist if necessary.

An ovarian cancer diagnosis does not always mean complete fertility loss.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the best-known cancer treatment, and many women with ovarian cancer will have to go through it at some point.

Chemotherapy involves getting prescribed and administered specialised medications to kill the cancerous cells. Unfortunately, it usually means healthy cells may be damaged too.  Some side effects of chemotherapy includes, hair loss, fatigue, and general mental and physical distress. Due to the specialised nature of these medications, they are usually used with guidance from a Medical Oncologist.

Chemotherapy may be prescribed before and/or after ovarian cancer surgery, either to shrink the tumour or to kill any remaining cancer cells.

In cases where surgery is not possible, chemotherapy might be the only treatment, but most people will be treated with a combination. Occasionally, radiation therapy will also be given, but that is not the norm.

Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer has side effects just like with any cancer

Counselling

Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be distressing. As well as medical support, your doctor should talk to you about coping mechanisms. Some people prefer to talk to a professional about their worries, so you might find specific cancer counselling services helpful.

To help you deal with negative emotions, most counsellors can offer you Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

CBT helps you to retrain your mind to make more realistic or helpful affirmations. It is great for managing stress, pain and other difficulties that occur from your diagnosis or life in general.

CBT is one treatment for ovarian cancer that people often overlook.

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

This week concludes ovarian cancer awareness month, but that doesn’t mean we should stop raising awareness. It is the 8th most deadly cancer and one of the hardest to detect, but catching ovarian cancer early is the best way to reduce its impact.

Speak to your doctor about any concerns you have and share information about ovarian cancer with the women in your life.

If you are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, support groups can help you to connect with others in a similar situation.

Felicity Thompson