Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis Methods And Disease Treatment

I decided to research ovarian cancer in this project because I am an ovarian cancer patient. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer five years ago, at 18 years old, and underwent surgery and chemotherapy (chemo) for 10 months. I wanted to know more about my disease, what cells I had, and what their characteristics were. We will discuss the symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and local providers throughout the ovarian cancer process.

Ovarian cancer symptoms are oftentimes the main reason people go get checked. In my case, irregular menstruation led me to go obstetricians, and I was able to find a 15-centimeter sized tumor in my right ovary at the hospital through an ultrasound. The doctor told me 'Have you ever felt a stomachache or swelling?' Prior to this, I had not felt any pain. If my menstruation had not been irregular, I would not have known about the tumor on my ovary. Through the experience, I found that ovarian cancer is a terrible disease with no major symptoms. There is only a 20% chance that ovarian cancer can be detected in the early stages (The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team, 2018, p. 2). This means that many people feel less confident to determine if they do have cancer because they have few symptoms.

Common symptoms include swelling of the abdomen, indigestion, feeling pressure on the pelvis and lower abdomen, altered appetite, and changes in menstrual periods, (“What are the Symptoms and Signs of Ovarian Cancer”, 2019) the last of which I experienced. However, the important thing is that in the early stages, most people do not recognize these symptoms and often ignore them. Furthermore, in advanced-stages, the pelvis and abdominal pain are more severe than in the early stages. In addition, symptoms such as constipation, back pain, weight loss, and frequent urination appear (Holland, K, 2018).

Ovarian cancer is a more common disease in older people than in younger people, an important risk factor to note. It is common in women between the ages of 50 and 60 going through menopause. The average age for ovarian cancer diagnosis is 63 (Lights, V., & Boskey, E, 2018). Like many diseases, ovarian cancer also has a genetic factor. 80-85% of ovarian cancer is attributed to family history. If people had diseases such as breast cancer and colon cancer, ovarian cancer is more likely to occur. The cause of this hereditary cancer is through the genetic mutation is passed on.

For the remaining 15-20%, there is a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer due to mutations in breast cancer gene 1 or 2 (BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes) (“Risk and protection factors of ovarian cancer,” (n.d.). Another interesting fact is that women who take hormone replace therapy (HRT) increase their risk of ovarian cancer by 40%. In addition, being overweight, smoking, and a diabetic is correlated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer (“Risk and protection factors of ovarian cancer,” (n.d.).

We are only able to treat ovarian cancer if we are able to diagnose it. Diagnostic imaging tests include transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS), computerized tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET). TVUS can check not only ovaries but also the uterus, fallopian tubes. It is a test in which an ultrasound wand is put into the vagina, but it cannot be determined whether the tumor is benign or malignant. CT is used in the abdomen and pelvis and is an X-ray examination to take a cross-sectional image of the body.

You can determine whether ovarian cancer has spread to other reproductive organs and see what the structure looks like. Sometimes severe side effects of contrast medium used in CT scan can are replaced with pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Pietrangelo, A., & Cafasso, J, 2017). Lastly, a PET scan injects radioactive glucose into the body to find cancer so that it can find a cancer cell by detecting the level of activity of cells in response to the sugar (The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team, 2018, p. 8). In addition to imaging tests, there is also a blood test and biopsy.

A blood test can measure the cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels in the blood. CA-125 is a type of protein, and blood tests show that the higher the number, the higher the chance of ovarian cancer. Lastly, the most important test available is the biopsy. Biopsy is the only way to determine whether a tumor is benign or malignant. Most of the methods can be determined by removing tumors during surgery and then taking small tissue samples from the tumor (The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team, 2018, p. 9,10).

The treatment of ovarian cancer depends on the type of tumor cells and when they are discovered. Potential surgical treatments are: only removing the tumors in the ovary, removing one ovary, removing both ovaries, and removing fallopian tubes, uterus, nearby lymph nodes and ovaries depending on the stage (“Ovarian cancer,” 2019). The second method is chemotherapy which is an internal medicine treatment for cancer by using antineoplastic drugs. After surgery, chemotherapy is used to kill cancer cells that may remain. Antineoplastic drugs hit not only cancer cells, but also normal cells, but particularly bone marrow, mouth, hair, fingernail, and reproductive cells. This causes a variety of side effects, including anemia, decreased white blood cell count, decreased platelets, diarrhea and muscle pain, hair loss, loss of appetite, black stripes on fingernails and toes, and reproductive failure.

Due to radiation or medication that patients receive to treat their cancer, they tend to reduce their blood cell production, which can be checked by a Complete Blood Count test (CBC) (“What Does a High Red Blood Cell (RBC) Count Mean?”, n.d.). Therefore, after several weeks of rest after administering an anti-cancer drug, a checkup and blood test can confirm that normal cells have recovered and then restart treatment. Treatment methods depend on the different types of tumors. Comment by Author: rework sentence structure Comment by Author: Side effect of treatment Comment by Author: rewording

In the case of epithelial tumors, the most common type of ovarian cancer, taking two types of medicine together is more effective. The first is the platinum compounds including cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, while another type of chemo drug class is called taxanes, such as paclitaxel or docetaxel. These medicines are administered intravenously (IV) every three to four weeks. (The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team, 2018). The second type of ovarian cancer is the germ cell tumor.

This cell tends to be treated with complex chemotherapy. The most commonly used combination is BEP (Bleomycin, etoposide, and platinum). If one of the germ cell tumors belongs to dysgerminoma, the combination of carboplatin and etoposide is used, which is sometimes less toxic compared to BEP. The third kind is the stromal tumor. This is the type of cancer I was diagnosed with. This case is an uncommon tumor and it is rare to be treated with chemotherapy. However, for treatment, a combination of carboplatin plus paclitaxel or PEB (cisplatin/Platinol, etoposide, and bleomycin) is used.

Who are local providers? Local providers are clinics, hospitals, and treatment centers. This is a website https://hr.unl.edu/cancer-support which is cancer support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which provides management and support throughout the cancer diagnosis and treatment process under “Human Resources”. Their purpose provides assistance in the physical, emotional, financial, and mental aspects of the patient.

For example, counseling patients to deal with a cancer diagnosis, counseling with patients, and recommending community cancer support groups. Another cancer support resource is https://womenscarelincoln.com/about-us/ which is Bryan Women's Care Physics Hospital in Lincoln. They help women of all ages, including pregnancy and obstetrics, as well as provide various information on women's health.