Treatment
Types of Treatment
The treatment options for ovarian cancer include local and systemic modalities. Each patient’s treatment plan depends on the type of cancer, stage, and other factors such as comorbidities.[6]
(You and Ovarian Cancer, 2021-a)
Local Modalities
Local modalities like staging surgery, debulking surgery, and radiation specifically target tumors.
Systemic Modalities
Systemic therapies, including chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted drug therapy, effectively treat cancer cells throughout the body.
Surveillance
Ovarian cancer survivors must continue post-treatment surveillance by a gynecological oncologist for five years, followed by an annual physical exam by a primary care physician. In addition, post-treatment care includes emotional support, recurrence monitoring, and management of comorbidities and treatment complications. [25, 53]
Recurrence
The completion of active treatment and confirmation of remission is synonymous with celebration and relief.[15,46,52] However, many ovarian cancer survivors will attest that the fear of recurrence still lingers.
Recurrence is the return of cancer after remission (no evidence of disease).[40, 46, 52] When a survivor receives news of recurrence, they may feel more depressed than their initial diagnosis. The devastating report may cause survivors to wonder why this is happening again and leave some individuals feeling defeated. These reactions are understandable since recurrence is not often completely curable.[46]However, ovarian cancer recurrence is now viewed as a chronic disease, and there are effective treatments available to help survivors live longer and more fulfilling lives.[39, 46, 52]
In the event of a recurrence, ovarian cancer survivors are encouraged to harness the strength they used to get through the initial diagnosis, advocate for themselves, lean on support systems, and use healthy coping strategies.[52]
