Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

There are not very many signs for spotting ovarian cancer early. It is not like skin cancer where it can be very visual. Instead, everything is very vague and as a result, very few women catch it in the early stages before it spreads to other organs, including the uterus, fallopian tubes or other areas of the reproductive system, causing gynecologic cancer beyond that of ovarian.

In regards to sexual health, knowing the symptoms of ovarian cancer are extremely critical because if left ignored, could result in many different problems. These symptoms can include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, vaginal bleeding, high blood pressure and an increased abdominal girth. Additional symptoms can also include tiredness and constipation.

While these symptoms might not sound extremely out of the ordinary, it is always better to err on the side of caution and mention them to a doctor should you be experiencing any of them. It is also good to know if you are at a higher risk for ovarian cancer due to family history, infertility or anything else. It can be hereditary; therefore if other women in your family have had gynecologic cancer, you could be at risk. Similarly, if you are either infertile or have never been pregnant, the risks are also higher.

Once you visit the doctor, he or she will make the diagnosis by doing several different things. There will be a pelvic exam, which could reveal an ovarian or abdominal mass. This could be a tumor or ovarian cysts, though it could also be cancer. Fluid in the abdominal cavity, known as ascites, could also be revealed during the physical exam.

At that point, the doctor will run a CA-125 blood test as well as other screening tests including an ultrasound of the pelvis, a biopsy and others to determine if it is in fact cancer. Many of the tests are unable to detect early stages of ovarian cancer, which is another reason that it can be lethal once diagnosed.

There is treatment for the cancer. Surgery is used to treat all of the stages, along with several other forms of therapy. The surgery usually involved a complete hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes, as well as a partial or complete removal of the omentum, which is the fatty later over the abdomen that covers and pads the organs. If there are swollen lymph nodes present, those might be examined, biopsied or removed altogether.

Chemotherapy is the standard used after surgery as a precaution to treat any remainder of the disease. It is either given through the veins or directly into the abdominal cavity. This is the method used should the cancer come back at any point as well.

Throughout the United States, radiation therapy is not typically used in conjunction with ovarian cancer.

Three out of four women typically survive ovarian cancer and over half survive past five years of the diagnosis. Once the cancer has been removed, a pelvic exam is administered every 6 months for the next three years and then annually after that.