What happens after treatment?
If you receive surgery first then your doctor will likely wait one to four weeks after surgery to give you chemotherapy. Not all patients with ovarian cancer require chemotherapy, but the vast majority will. The recommended treatment will depend on your stage. Your chemotherapy may be given via the vein (intravenously) or into the abdomen (intraperitoneally) or both. The main drugs involved in front line treatment of ovarian cancer are platinums (cis or carboplatinum) and taxanes.
Once you have completed treatment and there is no evidence of cancer remaining, you will need to have continued visits with your doctor to make sure there is no sign the cancer is returning.
Clinical Trial
Finally, your gynecologic oncologist may consider you eligible or a good candidate for a clinical trial. A clinical trial is a study that looks at improving or changing treatment options for women with ovarian cancer. This is a voluntary decision for you. If you choose to go on a clinical trial, you have a chance of getting a new medication or approach that might help to improve how this disease is treated.
Survivorship Toolkit
The SGO Survivorship Toolkit helps survivors organize their treatment history and future care plans. You can develop a survivorship plan along with your gynecologic oncologist and use this as an opportunity to evaluate and improve your overall health.
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