According to information from the medical website Medline Plus, ovarian cancer is the most deadly form of reproductive cancer in women. Risk factors for contracting this disease include increased age, personal or family history of cancer, or genetic defects in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. While chemotherapy is one of the generally accepted treatments for ovarian cancer, there are certain circumstances that necessitate halting chemo in favor of other treatment methods.
Chemotherapy
Understand the basics behind chemotherapy to treat ovarian cancer to better grasp the times when it is best to forsake chemo as a means of treatment. According to the American Cancer Society, chemotherapy is the introduction of hazardous drugs into the body for the express purpose of destroying cancerous cells. As chemotherapy is not an extremely precise method of treatment, some collateral damage to healthy tissue is expected, as well. This can lead to side effects such as hair loss, fatigue, nausea, increased risk of infection or digestive problems like diarrhea.
Stopping Chemotherapy
There are three generally accepted points at which chemotherapy should be discontinued. The first situation in which chemotherapy is no longer required is the optimal situation--when cancer has been forced into remission and is no longer an active threat. While your attending physician might want to continue the chemotherapy as a preventative measure for a bit longer after the cancer has shown signs of remission, that will soon be discontinued, allowing you to stop chemotherapy knowing that you have won this round in the battle against cancer. The second (less optimal) situation where chemotherapy for ovarian cancer should be stopped is at the end of a treatment cycle. According to the American Cancer Society, chemotherapy is normally provided in "cycles" of three to four weeks of regular application of the drugs. At the end of a cycle, the body is given time to rest and recuperate while the physicians assess the progress that has been made against ovarian cancer. Finally, the last reason for discontinuing a course of chemotherapy is where the benefits of the treatment are being outweighed by the cost. This can occur where the treatment does not appear to be having any real effect on the cancer cells but the patient is unduly suffering as a result of the therapy. It can also occur where the doctor believes that the therapy is conveying some benefit but the patient makes the unilateral choice to halt treatment, letting the cancer run its course without further intervention.
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