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
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.
Read MoreThe 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.”
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