There are five major forms of treatment for ovarian cancer.
Below, read all about what you should know when it comes to ovarian cancer treatment options.
The extent of surgery usually depends on thetype of ovarian canceryou have.
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It makes up about 90 percent of ovarian cancers, theACSsays.
It also involves removing both ovaries and fallopian tubes (a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy).
Also, removing your ovaries will put you intomenopauseif you havent yet gone through it.
Chemotherapy
As you probably already know, chemotherapy involves using certain drugs to treat cancer, theACSexplains.
In those cases, surgery may be enough, he explains.
Heres some information onhow to handle chemotherapy side effects.
Radiation
This uses high energy X-rays or particles to kill cancer cells, theACSexplains.
However, it may be helpful in treating areas where the cancer has developed beyond the ovary, theACSsays.
Therefore treatment needs to reach the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, she says.
For instance, radiation to the pelvis can sometimes cause long-term difficulty controlling your bladder, theACSsays.
Overall, side effects can include issues like hair loss, nausea, and diarrhea, according to theACS.
Some side effects, like fatigue, can happen no matter where you get the treatment.
Hormone therapy with the drug tamoxifen is also common.
It works to keep any estrogens circulating in your body from stimulating cancer cell growth.
However, it can raise the risk ofblood clotsin the legs since estrogenincreases the clotting factors in your blood.
The most common side effects include hot flashes, joint and muscle pain, and bone thinning, theACSsays.
VEGF prompts the creation of new blood vessels, but tumors can use those blood vessels to grow.
There can also be some more serious blood-related side effects, like blood clots and severe bleeding.
Another treatment uses poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARP inhibitors).
So, PARP inhibitors block that pathway, making it hard for tumor cells to fix damaged DNA.
As a result, these cells usually die.
Instead, weigh the risks and benefits of this kind of treatment with your doctor.
Even then, the specifics of your disease will dictate factors like whether chemotherapy or surgery is done first.
It all depends on your particular case.
They can best recommend how to apply treatment strategies.
