A Shift in Perceptions About Ovarian Cancer

If you are newly diagnosed with advanced-stage ovarian cancer, you may have difficulty learning that despite your best efforts with standard treatment, the disease may recur (come back). However, an interesting dialogue is currently taking place among medical experts and patients with ovarian cancer. This conversation relates to a shift in the way the medical profession is beginning to approach planning for the treatment of ovarian cancer, particularly when it is diagnosed at a later stage.

Significantly, since a majority of women (at least 75%) have stage III or IV ovarian cancer at diagnosis, only about 20% to 25% of women will have a “durable remission”—that is, they will have no evidence of disease for 5 years after their diagnosis. Therefore, for a majority of women, ovarian cancer will recur. The good news is that while a cure may not be possible, ovarian cancer can be effectively treated or stabilized over an extended period of time.

When ovarian cancer recurs, the goal of treatment may become focused on stopping or slowing the spread of the cancer even when it cannot be completely eliminated. In some women the disease will go in and out of remission, with chemotherapy being required intermittently, over a long period of time. Thus, ovarian cancer specialists are beginning to approach the illness as more of a chronic disease, meaning that the patient can live for an extended time with a good quality of life. This does not mean that researchers are not working toward finding a cure for ovarian cancer; quite the contrary. What it does mean is that proactively planning the sequence of what therapy to take and when over an extended period of time may help women live longer and better with ovarian cancer.

For some of you, it may be overwhelming to think about living with ovarian cancer as a chronic disease. Obviously, you and your health care team want nothing more than to rid your body of cancer forever. And, while over 9 million cancer survivors in the United States today dispel the myth that cancer is a death sentence, it may still be difficult to comprehend that you and your family may be living with this disease for an extended period of time. On the other hand, the idea that the disease can be repeatedly treated over time may give you a sense of hope that it can be managed and controlled to enable you to live your life and to do the things you want to do.

Either way, you may feel angry and afraid. Nearly every woman with ovarian cancer shares your fear. But there is hope. By being well-informed about the disease and its treatment, you may be able to more effectively manage your disease over an extended period of time. In addition, by developing constructive ways to better address your emotional, social, and spiritual needs, you can take back control and live well, not just despite the disease, but also because of it.