Finding and Surviving Ovarian Cancer

Various Treatments

What are the treatments for ovarian cancer?

The various treatment options for Ovarian cancer are surgery, chemotherapy or a combination of the two. You and your doctor should discuss your age, your general health, whether you plan to have children and your feelings about the side effects of treatment before deciding on the best options for you.

The choice of treatments for ovarian cancer are surgery that removes the ovaries, uterus and the tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus, surgery that removes all of the tumor and biopsies other areas to see if the tumor has spread, chemotherapy, radiation which is used if chemotherapy has failed, or a combination of these treatments. When cancer is found in one ovary, then usually both ovaries are removed along with the uterus and the fallopian tubes.

If the tumor has spread outside of the ovary, as much as possible of the tumor is also removed. Unlike many other cancers, ovarian cancer usually first spreads by some of the ovarian cancer cells breaking away and lodging on another organ surface within the peritoneal cavity. If not discovered early, there can be hundreds of tumors growing within the abdomen.

If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, chemotherapy may also be necessary. Chemotherapy uses drugs in the form of pills or intravenous injections that kill any cells in your body that are dividing quickly.

A special way of delivering chemotherapy has been developed for ovarian cancer. This special way of delivering chemotherapy involves directly injecting the drugs into the abdominal cavity.