Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer: What to Expect, Why a ‘Port’ Makes Things Easier

Chemotherapy treatment uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells, which can grow and multiply much more rapidly than most of the body’s healthy cells.

The process of getting chemotherapy can be unpleasant, says Dr. Peter Argenta, gynecologic oncologist, University of Minnesota Health Cancer Care. But, he adds, you’ll meet plenty of people who’ve weathered the process and are now living productive, normal, and successful lives.

While the specific chemotherapy experience for ovarian cancer — including timing, length, and dose — differs from patient to patient, most women with the disease will receive a combination of the two chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel (Taxol), or some version of those. Both of those drugs are given intravenously, typically once every three weeks or so.

Chemo medications can be a little bit tough on the blood vessels, says Dr. Argenta. And while patients can opt to receive them through a regular IV in the arm, most doctors will recommend a port, a small device or catheter implanted underneath the skin. Nurses can then insert the needle into the port, allowing easier access for them and less discomfort for patients, who won’t have to get an IV “needle stick” for every infusion or blood draw.

The most common side effects from chemo are fatigue, nausea, and hair loss.

“Three days after chemotherapy, it’s very common for people to begin to feel washed out, a little fatigued, a little slow, and sometimes nauseous,” says Dr. Argenta. “This tends to kick in around the 3rd or 4th treatment. Around the 5th and 6th treatments, the fatigue really can accumulate. People often say, whatever took me an hour to do now takes me 90 minutes. What took 10 minutes now takes 15 minutes — but not that they can’t do anything.” During that time, he says, most people are largely functional.

Nausea is a problem that’s inextricably linked to cancer, but the good news is that there’s been tremendous progress in managing nausea in recent years. “One thing we’ve learned,” Dr. Argenta says, “is that nausea is much easier to prevent than it is to fix once you’ve got it,” so nausea medication is given throughout treatment. Doctors also usually prescribe a couple of medications, typically Zofran, as a pill or a dissolving tablet, to take at home. Ginger tea and ginger candy can also help.

If your chemo regimen includes Taxol, which is commonly used for ovarian cancer, your hair will fall out, says Dr. Argenta. “That usually happens right around the second infusion, so about 21 or 22 days after chemotherapy. Some people will prepare by getting their hair cut short, so that the change is less dramatic, and less distressing, when it happens. What I try to convey to patients is that it’s only as big a deal as they allow it to be. It’s not a health consequence but it is an emotional consequence, and there’s no denying that it’s a problem for a lot of people.”

The chief complaint Dr. Argenta says he hears about is boredom during the chemo treatments. He recommends that patients bring an iPad, a book, or something they enjoy because the infusions, depending on the medications, can sometimes take up to six or eight hours.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.