What is the treatment for Ovarian Cancer?
Ovarian cancer requires prompt treatment including surgery and chemotherapy. Regular follow-up of the disease is vital to increase the survival rate.
Surgical resection:
Remove the areas including ovaries on both sides, egg tubes, womb, greater omentum (a large fold of membrane that hangs down from the stomach), lymph nodes nearby and tissues which has signs of spreading.
For young patient with cancer of early stage (tumor being confined to one ovary), the doctor may consider removing only the affected ovary and fallopian tube but keep the other ovary after staging operation so that hormone secretion is maintained and the patient can get pregnant if she wants to.
Chemotherapy:
After surgery, doctor will use anti-cancer drugs as an adjuvant therapy to destroy and interfere with the growth of cancer cells to lower the chance of recurrence.
The anti-cancer drugs are usually injected into the body through the vein. A complete treatment consists of 6 injections, given once every 3 or 4 weeks. Common side effects of chemotherapy are nausea, vomiting, hair loss, loss of appetite and fatigue. Anemia, low platelet count and risk of infection are also common as the bone marrow is affected.