1. Why Is It Essential to Know What Stage You're In?
Your doctor may remove (biopsy) tissue samples from your abdomen or pelvis to determine the ovarian cancer stage. The staging could reveal the extent of the primary tumor (T) and whether it has spread to nearby lymph Nodes (N). In an advanced stage called metastasis (M), your cancer could spread to far away tissues and organs.
2. The Stage is Set
Your ovarian cancer may still be confined to the inside of one or both the ovaries in stages 1A and 1b or burst to the surface in stage 1C. Your physician might find cancer cells in your abdominal fluid samples. It might then be best to get rid of your ovaries surgically. In Grade 1, for instance, when cells still look normal, you might be better off losing just the affected ovary and fallopian tube. In advanced stage cancers, chemo and paclitaxel are prescribed as the cells get increasingly abnormal. Over 90 percent of patients diagnosed at this early stage can expect to survive for more than five years, according to the American College of Surgeons National Cancer Database.
3. Second Stage
In the second stage, the cancer has progressed beyond one or both ovaries. In stage 2A, the ovarian cancer gets into the uterus or the fallopian tubes, or both. In stage 2B, it progresses to the bladder, the colon and the rectum. By 2C, the cancer has spread to other pelvic organs and the abdominal fluid. Surgery to remove the tumor followed by chemo is the standard treatment.
4. Getting Beyond the Pelvis
During stage 3, the ovarian cancer extends into the lining of the abdomen and the lymph nodes. Cancer deposits larger than two centimeters across may be found in the abdomen. Surgery will be necessary to remove the uterus, both fallopian tubes, both ovaries and some fatty tissue. The physician may need to remove a major chunk of the tumor. Chemo could entail a mix of carboplatin (or cisplatin) and a taxane, such as paclitaxel.
5. All is Not Lost
In stage 4, the disease spreads to the liver, the lungs and other organs. To confirm stage 4, ovarian cancer cells must be found in the fluid around the lungs. Treatment with chemo can control it but recurrences are not uncommon. Also, side effects can be nasty. So your physician should check how successful the treatment has been. Usually, he will monitor for levels of a tumor marker called CA-125 via a small incision below the navel, in a surgery called a laparotomy. At this stage the patient has a less than one in five chance of living beyond five years.
