All the women possess two ovaries that are present in the pelvis. They are present on both sides of the uterus. They produce eggs and female hormones. Each ovary passes eggs through a long and slender tube to the uterus. We call them fallopian tubes. The peritoneum is a tissue lining or covering that surrounds the organs in the abdomen. A group of disorders that originates in the ovaries or the nearby regions of fallopian tubes and peritoneum is termed ovarian cancer. Let’s discuss this cancer and its treatments.
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Symptoms Of The Disorder
We know that every disease causes some symptoms that doctors use to diagnose it. This specific type of cancer also produces some symptoms. Women should consider the changes occurring in their bodies. They should keep an eye if their body is normal or abnormal. Abnormal symptoms do not mean that it is cancer. It may be something else. You should see a doctor confirm the symptoms. In its early stage, it does not produce any specific symptoms. In its advanced stage, it may cause non-specific signs. Its symptoms include abdominal swelling or bloating, feeling full after eating a small quantity of food, sudden weight loss, uncomfortable sensation in the area of the pelvis, increased production of urine, and alternation in the bowel habits such as constipation. After finding any of these signs, a female should visit a doctor and discuss the issues. It will help you identify the disease.
How To Diagnose It?
When you identify symptoms for a specific disorder, you must go to a doctor for a diagnosis. You should go to some healthcare center. Following are different methods to diagnose the disorder.
Pelvic Exam
During this particular examination, a healthcare professional inserts fingers through the vagina and at the same time press the abdomen with another hand. It helps a doctor to feel (palpate) the pelvic organs. Doctors also visualize the external genitalia, cervix, and vagina. This practice helps him understand the circumstances of the body and analyzes the abnormalities. It measures the size, structure, and shape of the ovaries.
Imaging Tests
Another method of diagnosing this disorder includes the CT scan or ultrasound. The doctor scans the abdominal cavity and pelvis of the patient. These tests take images of the ovaries and other organs inside the abdominal cavity. It helps to identify the size, shape, and structure of the vagina, ovaries, and cervix.
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Through Blood Testing
We know that blood testing can help to diagnose various diseases. Diabetes mellitus, hepatitis, and many other diseases can be diagnosed by using blood tests. Its blood tests include organ function tests that help to diagnose the overall health of the body. The doctor takes blood samples and tests them for tumor markers. Tumor markers will indicate the cancer of the ovaries. For instance, there is a cancer antigen (CA) 125 test. It can identify a protein that is often present on the surface of cancer cells of the ovary. They may give your doctor clues about whether you have a disease or not.
Through Surgery
Sometimes a doctor is not sure about the disease. He needs to remove the ovary surgically and test it to analyze it for the presence of cancer.
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After the confirmation of the disease, doctors read and understand the reports. After reading the reports, they assign a stage to your cancer. For example, what stage of cancer you are suffering from. They indicate different stages through Roman numerals from I to IV. The lowest stage is “I,” which indicates that ovaries have got cancer. Stage “IV” indicates that cancer has spread in the whole body.
Who Treats This Disease?
It is the era of specialization. Specialists deal with specific problems. Each specialty deals with specific problems. In the medical field, there are many diseases. Different doctors treat different disorders. A radiation oncologist is a doctor that uses radiation to treat cancer patients. A gynecologist oncologist is a specialist physician who treats cancer of the ovaries. He may treat by using chemicals or other medicines. Some medical oncologists make use of chemotherapy and medicines for treating this particular type of cancer. This is a specialty that requires specialists who have gained training to cure patients suffering from this type of cancer.
Treatment Options Available
There are different options to treat this disorder. They may include chemotherapy, treatment through medicines, and surgical therapy. Let’s discuss different options.
Surgery
This is the option to remove different parts that are suffering from cancer. When cancer is in an early stage, doctors may remove the affected ovary. When a disease has affected only limited parts of the body, such as only one ovary, then this practice can help to remove the affected ovary. In other cases, when there is a greater influence of cancer, and more body parts are affected, they may remove both the ovaries and uterus if required. For more advanced cancer, a doctor may recommend treating via chemotherapy and perform surgery afterward to remove as many cancerous cells as possible. This is a good procedure in which surgeons remove the affected cells from the body. It helps to stop the spread of disease.
Treatment With Chemicals (Chemotherapy)
Chemotherapy is a specialized treatment that makes use of chemicals for killing fast-growing cancerous cells. Doctors can inject chemotherapy drugs into the body through veins or ask the patient to take drugs through the mouth. Sometimes, they directly inject the drugs into the abdomen. This particular procedure is called intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Most surgeons use chemicals to treat cancer cells after surgery. It helps to remove the cancer cell that might remain in the body. Some physicians also use chemotherapy before surgery.
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Targeted Therapy
This is a special kind of treatment that makes use of medicines to target or reach specific vulnerabilities that are present within cancerous cells. There are targeted therapy medicines that are reserved for the treatment of cancer of the ovaries. They help to treat cancer that returns after the previous cure or the type of cancer that resists other methods of treatments. Healthcare professionals can check through their expertise the usability of targeted therapy for your cancerous cells. They will identify which method is the most suitable for your body. Targeted therapy is an active area of research, and many clinical trials are performing tests for new targeted therapies.
Palliative (Supportive) Care
Palliative care is a specialized kind of medical strategy that helps a patient to get relief from pain due to a serious illness. There are palliative specialists that work with you, other doctors, and your family to provide you extra efficient care. They try to help you get relief from pain. Doctors use this procedure to provide extra care during ongoing medical procedures such as surgery or chemotherapy. Cancer patients feel uncomfortable due to prolonged pains. They can get palliative care for relieving their bodies. A team of doctors, a group of trained nurses, or another specially trained healthcare professional can provide palliative care.
Ovarian cancer is a highly painful disorder. It is curable in its early stage. At its advanced stages, its cure becomes difficult, and the recovery rate decreases. Surgical treatment removes the affected cells or body parts. Chemotherapy kills different affected cells through chemicals. Targeted therapy and palliative care can also help to relieve cancer.
