Considerations Towards Ovarian Cancer Surgery
- Oncologists must determine the extent of the patient’s cancer, and whether chemotherapy should be given before surgery or if surgery must be done first
- Patients are given medication to manage pain before surgery, and are also given abdominal nerve blocks to manage postoperative pain
- It’s helpful to have community support to help healing and monitor pain levels
Before patients head into surgery, it’s important to have all the facts concerning a cancer diagnosis. In order to ensure your safety, Dr. Nabila Rasool, a gynecologic oncologist at Ascension Providence Hospital, breaks down considerations that are made to determine treatment options.
First things first, doctors must determine the extent of a patient’s cancer before surgery is considered. From there, oncologists assess whether patients would benefit more from receiving chemotherapy treatments before surgery, or if surgery must be prioritized. These decisions are made by examining a patient’s clinical and nutritional status, and whether a surgery first would be able to remove all visible cancer.
Due to ovarian cancer surgery being a major abdominal procedure, patients may experience significant postoperative pain. According to Dr. Rasool, surgeons try to manage patients’ pain before surgery so it’s less severe during their postoperative stay.
“We do what we call a TAP block, or abdominal nerve blocks, where we can help with postoperative pain,” Dr. Rasool says. “From our standpoint we try to optimize pain control as much as possible, try to minimize narcotic use as well, so using form of NLG’s you have to help control patients’ pain postoperatively because narcotic use can cause potential side effects [and] can cause slowing down the bowels after surgery as well.”
Once the patients’ pain is controlled in the hospital, Dr. Rasool says doctors will make sure the pain will also be able to be monitored in the home after the patient is released. Once leaving the hospital, it’s critical recovering surgery patients have a supportive community surrounding them.
The Benefits of Exercise After Ovarian Cancer Surgery
While recovering from surgery, patients may assume bed rest and avoiding physical exercise is the smart move. However, oncologists have told SurvivorNet that exercise in moderation has proven to be extremely beneficial for people after ovarian cancer surgery. Of course, doctors don’t expect you to immediately hit the gym, but Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos, an oncology physical therapies for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine, tells SurvivorNet that activities as simple as walking and breathing exercises can make a huge impact on recovery.
“Starting to move more, starting a moderate walking program, starting a deep breathing program, all of those things can help with posture,” Dr. Wicker-Ramos says. “It can help with endurance, your strength, and just get you back to where you were before and get you to ultimately, recover long-term from your surgery.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Nabila Rasool is a board certified gynecologic oncologist at Ascension Providence Hospital - Southfield in Michigan. Read More
Considerations Towards Ovarian Cancer Surgery
- Oncologists must determine the extent of the patient’s cancer, and whether chemotherapy should be given before surgery or if surgery must be done first
- Patients are given medication to manage pain before surgery, and are also given abdominal nerve blocks to manage postoperative pain
- It’s helpful to have community support to help healing and monitor pain levels
Before patients head into surgery, it’s important to have all the facts concerning a cancer diagnosis. In order to ensure your safety,
Dr. Nabila Rasool, a gynecologic oncologist at Ascension Providence Hospital, breaks down considerations that are made to determine treatment options.
First things first, doctors must determine the extent of a patient’s cancer before surgery is considered. From there, oncologists assess whether patients would benefit more from receiving chemotherapy treatments before surgery, or if surgery must be prioritized. These decisions are made by examining a patient’s clinical and nutritional status, and whether a surgery first would be able to remove all visible cancer.
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Due to ovarian cancer surgery being a major abdominal procedure, patients may experience significant postoperative pain. According to Dr. Rasool, surgeons try to manage patients’ pain before surgery so it’s less severe during their postoperative stay.
“We do what we call a TAP block, or abdominal nerve blocks, where we can help with postoperative pain,” Dr. Rasool says. “From our standpoint we try to optimize pain control as much as possible, try to minimize narcotic use as well, so using form of NLG’s you have to help control patients’ pain postoperatively because narcotic use can cause potential side effects [and] can cause slowing down the bowels after surgery as well.”
Once the patients’ pain is controlled in the hospital, Dr. Rasool says doctors will make sure the pain will also be able to be monitored in the home after the patient is released. Once leaving the hospital, it’s critical recovering surgery patients have a supportive community surrounding them.
The Benefits of Exercise After Ovarian Cancer Surgery
While recovering from surgery, patients may assume bed rest and avoiding physical exercise is the smart move. However, oncologists have told SurvivorNet that exercise in moderation has proven to be extremely beneficial for people after ovarian cancer surgery. Of course, doctors don’t expect you to immediately hit the gym, but Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos, an oncology physical therapies for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine, tells SurvivorNet that activities as simple as walking and breathing exercises can make a huge impact on recovery.
“Starting to move more, starting a moderate walking program, starting a deep breathing program, all of those things can help with posture,” Dr. Wicker-Ramos says. “It can help with endurance, your strength, and just get you back to where you were before and get you to ultimately, recover long-term from your surgery.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Nabila Rasool is a board certified gynecologic oncologist at Ascension Providence Hospital - Southfield in Michigan. Read More
