Live Life Team
Continuation of part 3
Prevention
Screening for women at high risk of ovarian cancer
Screening of ovarian cancer can be done if any two or more relatives on one side of the family have ovarian cancer under 50 years of age. One of the relatives should be sister or mother. Ovarian cancer can be screened above the age of 35 or 5 years away from when your relative who was youngest was diagnosed. Once a year screening is required.
Screening for ovarian cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) If there is family history of breast or ovarian cancer, one genes can result in making this condition likely. BRCA 1 & BRCA2 are the genes, even one of them is present you can develop breast or ovarian cancer.
The criteria for BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing are outlined below.
Any close relatives diagnosed with ovarian cancer at any age or breast cancer before 50 years of age.
Any close relative like sister, daughter or mother having the condition of ovarian cancer at any age, and two close relatives having breast cancer. Your relatives having breast cancer need to come from one side of the family, and should have an average age of less than 60 years.
Any close relative with ovarian cancer at any age, and at least one close relative with breast cancer diagnosed under the age of 50. These relatives should both come from one side of your family.
Treatment
Treatment of ovarian cancer involves combination of surgeries like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Depending on the grade, stage and type of ovarian cancer the treatment will be decided. Treatment will be received by a team of professionals headed by Oncologist.
Surgery
The first will be surgery for ovarian cancer to remove maximum cancerous tissue before radiotherapy or chemotherapy. This process is called as ‘debulking’. Cancer removing operations are large operations. Operation for removal of both fallopian tubes, uterus and both the ovaries are performed and are known as total hysterectomy.
If only one ovary is affected by cancer, only one ovary with fallopian tubes around it is removed. You still have a chance to conceive. In case the cancer has spread out in the reproductive system both the ovaries need to be removed in such cases you will not be able to conceive. Surgery of ovarian cancer required 2 weeks of hospitalization and 6 weeks rest for recovery at home causing difficulty at times. Support can be provided by few organizations for recovering.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses medicine that stop the growth of cancer cells. Cyctotoxic is the medicine that targets cancer cells and blocking them from multiplying and dividing. This is a specialist treatment and used in cases wherein surgeries cannot be used to remove any cancer cells. In chemotherapy medicines are given intravenously. Carboplatin or cisplatin are used which are very effective for ovarian cancer. As this passes through the blood it targets cancer cells in reproductive system as well as those which have spread somewhere else. At least 12-6 sessions of chemotherapy will be given between 3-4 weeks to give the body rest in between. It takes 3 hours to inject the medicine. At times it can get extended up to 24 hrs. in such cases an overnight stay in hospital is recommended
