Treatment methods

Your doctor can describe your treatment choices and the expected results. Most women have surgery and chemotherapy. Rarely, radiation therapy is used.

Cancer treatment can affect cancer cells in the pelvis, in the abdomen, or throughout the body:

• Local therapy: Surgery and radiation therapy are local therapies. They remove or destroy ovarian cancer in the pelvis. When ovarian cancer has spread to other parts of the body, local therapy may be used to control the disease in those specific areas.



• Intraperitoneal chemotherapy: Chemotherapy can be given directly into the abdomen and pelvis through a thin tube. The drugs destroy or control cancer in the abdomen and pelvis.



• Systemic chemotherapy: When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein, the drugs enter the bloodstream and destroy or control cancer throughout the body.

You may want to know how treatment may change your normal activities. You and your doctor can work together to develop a treatment plan that meets your medical and personal needs.

Because cancer treatments often damage healthy cells and tissues, side effects are common. Side effects depend mainly on the type and extent of the treatment. Side effects may not be the same for each woman, and they may change from one treatment session to the next. Before treatment starts, your health care team will explain possible side effects and suggest ways to help you manage them.

You may want to talk to your doctor about taking part in a clinical trial, a research study of new treatment methods. Clinical trials are an important option for women with all stages of ovarian cancer. The section on "The Promise of Cancer Research" has more information about clinical trials.

You may want to ask your doctor these questions before your treatment begins:

• What is the stage of my disease? Has the cancer spread from the ovaries? If so, to where?



• What are my treatment choices? Do you recommend intraperitoneal chemotherapy for me? Why?



• Would a clinical trial be appropriate for me?



• Will I need more than one kind of treatment?



• What are the expected benefits of each kind of treatment?



• What are the risks and possible side effects of each treatment? What can we do to control side effects? Will they go away after treatment ends?



• What can I do to prepare for treatment?



• Will I need to stay in the hospital? If so, for how long?



• What is the treatment likely to cost? Will my insurance cover the cost?



• How will treatment affect my normal activities?



• Will treatment cause me to go through an early menopause?



• Will I be able to get pregnant and have children after treatment?



• How often should I have checkups after treatment?