When ovarian cancer is diagnosed and treated in its earliest stages, there is a 93-percent five-year survival rate. However, only 20-percent of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed early. With ovarian cancer diagnosed stage III or higher, the survival rate hovers around 30-percent, according to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. And to date, there is no effective test to screen for ovarian cancer.
That makes ovarian cancer the deadliest among the gynecological cancers.
In 2022 nearly 20,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and more than half, close to 13,000 will succumb to the disease.
Unfortunately, many women mistakenly believe that ovarian cancer has no symptoms. That’s not true. There are definite symptoms. However, some are very subtle, so you have to listen to your body.
Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer
Part of the reason ovarian cancer is detected late is that some of the signs and symptoms are easy to pass off as something else, or they are mistaken for another ailment. These include:
- Bloating
- Pelvic or abdominal pain
- Feeling full quickly
- Having trouble eating
- Needing to go to the bathroom more often
- Fatigue
- Back pain
- Pain during sex
- Changes in your menstrual cycle
- Upset stomach
- Heartburn
- Constipation
If you have any of these symptoms and they persist, see your doctor right away.
Ovarian Cancer Treatment
For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, treatment depends on the stage of the cancer and your overall health.
However, options can include surgery chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted drug therapy and radiation, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Ovarian cancer unfortunately is often caught very late, often requiring radical surgery, a lot of chemotherapy and still it cannot be contained,” says Dr. Mark Pomper, medical director of CyberKnife Miami and board-certified radiation oncologist.
CyberKnife for Ovarian Cancer
Dr. Pomper and his staff at CyberKnife Miami — a state-of-the-art, free-standing cancer center that uses the most precise form of radiation therapy to kill cancer and to treat ovarian cancer but not until the cancer has metastasized.
“Radiation therapy is a great tool for treating ovarian cancer tumors that have spread and continue to spread and cause pain,” says Dr. Pomper. “CyberKnife targets and destroys the tumors with pinpoint accuracy, giving these patients a lot of pain relief. It does not necessarily cure the cancer, but it helps them maintain their quality of life while living with cancer, which is vital to all patients.”
In fact, the experts at CyberKnife Miami have treated numerous patients who were told at other cancer centers that nothing else could be done for them. Patients like Leonor.
“I came to the CyberKnife Center of Miami with very little hope.” said Leonor, a CyberKnife Miami patient. “I was told by several cancer doctors at several cancer centers that I should get my affairs in order. That I didn’t have long to live. So, I went to my boss and told him I had to quit work and spend whatever time I have left with my family. To my shock he told me, first you see God then you see CyberKnife Miami.”
Leonor’s boss had lung cancer and went to the CyberKnife Center of Miami for treatment. He too was given only weeks to live by other doctors, but thanks to CyberKnife treatments and the cancer experts at CyberKnife Miami he lived nine more years.
“CyberKnife was my life saver too,” said Leonor. “I got to see my daughter graduate high school and college, get married and give birth to my grandson.”
Cancer Treatment Miami
CyberKnife may not be a cure for ovarian cancer, but treatments may help patients live longer lives more comfortably with the disease. That’s because CyberKnife also known as stereotactic body radiation therapy or SBRT delivers radiation precisely to the tumor, killing the cancer while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
With CyberKnife technology, Dr. Pomper and his staff can also continuously track and follow the tumor if a patient moves and while breathing naturally – delivering the highest dose of radiation possible to kill the tumors.
Treatment is painless with CyberKnife, and there is little to no downtime.
At CyberKnife Miami, our patients are not statistics, and every case is different. That’s why we spend time talking through all your options with our patients.
Aside from ovarian cancer we treat spine, brain, breast, lung, kidney, pancreas, liver, prostate and head and neck tumors. We also treat lymphoma and other conditions in the body where radiation treatment is necessary like Trigeminal Neuralgia.
If you would like to find out more about treatment with CyberKnife for ovarian cancer or any type of cancer, call us at 305-279-2900 or go to our website now for more information www.cyberknifemiami.com.