The Best Initial Treatment for Your Specific Cancer
- After a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, every woman’s treatment path will look a bit different
- Most of the time, the first course of treatment a woman receives will be either chemotherapy or surgery
- Surgery first is most common, but it’s important to keep in mind that not all women are eligible to receive surgery for ovarian cancer; poor overall health and other conditions can make the procedure risky
After a woman has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the initial treatment she receives will be dependent on a number of factors, but most often, it will include some combination of surgery and chemotherapy.
“Or sometimes we may look into hospice care if a patient doesn’t want to go through treatment and experience the side effects of treatment,” says Jessica Perreau, a nurse practitioner at Texas Oncology in San Antonio. As a nurse practitioner who works with ovarian cancer patients, Perreau often spends time talking with patients and their families to make sure a specific treatment plan aligns with their goals.
“We talk with the patient and their family and see what is in line with what they would like for their treatment,” Perreau explains.
Most of the time, the first step for ovarian cancer treatment ends up being surgery first, followed by chemotherapy. In some cases, however, a woman might not be eligible for surgery, in which case the decision would likely be to go straight to treatment with chemotherapy.
“If patients come in and they’re in a wheelchair and they have kidney failure… things like that that are already chronic diseases that they’re dealing with… sometimes we will just go straight to chemotherapy,” Perreau says, explaining, “we don’t want to make things worse in regard to their quality of life, especially if they don’t appear to be an ideal surgical candidate.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
The Best Initial Treatment for Your Specific Cancer
- After a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, every woman’s treatment path will look a bit different
- Most of the time, the first course of treatment a woman receives will be either chemotherapy or surgery
- Surgery first is most common, but it’s important to keep in mind that not all women are eligible to receive surgery for ovarian cancer; poor overall health and other conditions can make the procedure risky
After a woman has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the initial treatment she receives will be dependent on a number of factors, but most often, it will include some combination of surgery and chemotherapy.
“Or sometimes we may look into hospice care if a patient doesn’t want to go through treatment and experience the side effects of treatment,” says Jessica Perreau, a nurse practitioner at Texas Oncology in San Antonio. As a nurse practitioner who works with ovarian cancer patients, Perreau often spends time talking with patients and their families to make sure a specific treatment plan aligns with their goals.
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“We talk with the patient and their family and see what is in line with what they would like for their treatment,” Perreau explains.
Most of the time, the first step for ovarian cancer treatment ends up being surgery first, followed by chemotherapy. In some cases, however, a woman might not be eligible for surgery, in which case the decision would likely be to go straight to treatment with chemotherapy.
“If patients come in and they’re in a wheelchair and they have kidney failure… things like that that are already chronic diseases that they’re dealing with… sometimes we will just go straight to chemotherapy,” Perreau says, explaining, “we don’t want to make things worse in regard to their quality of life, especially if they don’t appear to be an ideal surgical candidate.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
