Deciding what kind of treatment one needs for ovarian cancer is decided by a dedicated team of doctors and other professionals. This team includes a gynecologic oncologist specializing in cancer surgery in women, an oncologist, who is a medical cancer specialist as well as a gynecologic cancer specialist nurse. Treatment for ovarian cancer depends on a certain set of factors, which include the kind of cancer, how far it has spread and grown, or where cancer exactly is. This article discusses the main ovarian cancer treatments according to the stages of cancer:

Stage 1
Usually, doctors class early ovarian cancer as stage 1 cancer. This means that the cancer is restricted to and contained within the ovaries until now.

Surgery
Surgery is the main treatment for this stage of ovarian cancer. The specialist surgeon removes the cancerous tumor. One might even require their womb, including the cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries removed as well. The surgeon also examines the inside of the abdominal organs as well as the abdomen of the patient for signs of cancer.

Chemotherapy
Post surgery, the doctor could end up suggesting that the patient undergo chemotherapy. This is known as adjuvant chemotherapy and is done to reduce the risk of cancer’s remission. Chemotherapy is suggested in the following cases:

• high grade (grade 3) cancer
• stage 1c ovarian cancer
• For certain stage 1a, low-grade cancers, it could be possible to simply remove the affected fallopian tube and ovary, leaving behind the unaffected womb and ovary. This means that one might be able to become pregnant and have a baby later.

Stage II, III and IV ovarian cancers
These stages of ovarian cancer are chronic and need best treatments. This essentially means that the cancer is not contained within the ovary and has spread outside it. The main treatments are surgery and chemotherapy.

Surgery
Most patients with ovarian cancer have surgery to remove the womb and the cervix, as well as both fallopian tubes and ovaries. If the cancer has spread to other areas in the abdomen and pelvis, then the surgeon will try and remove as much of the cancer as possible. Sometimes, the surgeon might even have to remove part of the patient’s bowel if the cancer is spreading there and has blocked the bowel movement.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be given at different times. One can have:

• Chemotherapy prior to as well as post the surgery, which is known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy and interval debulking surgery.
• Chemotherapy post the surgery, which is known as debulking surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy.
• One might not have surgery at all if they are not strong enough or have a very advanced level of cancer. In such cases, one might be administered chemotherapy alone or have it combined with other treatments.

Targeted cancer medicines
These medicines are given to certain patients with advanced ovarian cancer as a treatment option. The medicines change the way that the cells work, helping the body control the cancer growth.