Ovarian Cancer

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?

Many women with ovarian cancer want to take an active part in making decisions about their medical care. It is natural to want to learn all you can about your disease and treatment choices. Knowing more about ovarian cancer helps many women cope.

Shock and stress after the diagnosis can make it hard to think of everything you want to ask your doctor. It often helps to make a list of questions before an appointment. To help remember what your doctor says, you may take notes or ask whether you may use a tape recorder. You may also want to have a family member or friend with you when you talk to your doctor-to take part in the discussion, to take notes, or just to listen.

The treatment of ovarian cancer usually involves a combination of surgery and chemotherapy.

If you want to preserve the option to have children and if your tumor is discovered early, the surgeon may remove only the involved ovary and its fallopian tube. However, this situation is rare. The most common type of tumor often occurs in both ovaries. If it isn't evident initially, eventually the other ovary is likely to develop cancer.

In general, cancer-related alternative medicine refers to therapies, such as mistletoe or coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ10)*, that may be used instead of conventional treatments. Complementary or integrative medicine, on the other hand, usually means therapies used in conjunction with traditional treatments.