Managing ovarian cancer typically includes a mix of surgery and chemotherapy. In specific cases, other treatments may be considered.
Surgery for ovarian cancer can include:
Removing One Ovary:
For early-stage cancer limited to one ovary, surgery might involve taking out the affected ovary and its tube. This could let you still have kids.
Removing Both Ovaries:
When cancer is in both ovaries but hasn’t spread further, the surgeon might remove both ovaries and tubes. Your uterus stays, giving you a chance for pregnancy using frozen embryos, eggs, or donor eggs.
Removing Both Ovaries and Uterus:
If the cancer is more widespread or if having kids isn’t a concern, the surgeon may take out ovaries, tubes, uterus, nearby lymph nodes, and some abdominal tissue.
Surgery for Advanced Cancer:
If cancer has advanced, the doctor may suggest surgery to remove as much cancer as possible. Sometimes, chemotherapy comes before or after this surgery.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is a special kind of treatment using drugs. These drugs aim at the specific weak points in cancer cells. By attacking these weak points, the drugs can make the cancer cells die.
If you’re thinking about using targeted therapy for ovarian cancer, your doctor might check your cancer cells to figure out which targeted therapy is best for treating your cancer.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is a treatment using drugs to stop the hormone estrogen from affecting ovarian cancer cells. Certain ovarian cancer cells rely on estrogen to grow, so blocking it can help manage the cancer.
Hormone therapy could be a choice for certain types of ovarian cancers that grow slowly. It might also be considered if the cancer returns after the first treatments.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a way to help the body’s immune system fight against cancer. Cancer cells can sometimes avoid being attacked by the immune system because they make proteins that hide them. Immunotherapy steps in to stop this from happening.
In certain cases, immunotherapy could be considered as a choice for treating ovarian cancer.