Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

The ovaries are more or less free in the abdominal cavity. In the beginning of the disease, women usually have few complaints because the tumor does not push other organs. Complaints often occur only after the tumor has expanded. As a consequence, ovarian cancer is almost never discovered early.

Ovarian cancer symptoms

If ovarian cancer expands, you may suffer from:

• a bloated feeling or fat stomach: this is often noticeable because clothes do not fit well anymore
• full of feeling and/or trouble with food
• nausea
• pelvic or abdominal pain
• more often than usual
• clogging

Stage classification in ovarian cancer

The doctor will prescribe you a treatment. For this he must know:

• from which type of cells the tumor is created
• how aggressive these cells are
• what the stage of the disease is

The stage indicates how much the disease has expanded in the body. The doctor sets the stage. He/she investigates for this:

• the place and size of the tumor
• or and how far the tumor has grown into the tissue around it
• whether there are sores in the lymph nodes and/or organs elsewhere in the body

With this stage classification, the doctor estimates the prospects and advises a treatment.

Staging

In ovarian cancer there are 4 stages:

• Stage I: the tumor is limited to 1 or both ovary (s)
• Stage II: The tumor has grown in other organs in the small pelvis: 
• Stage II A: to the uterus or fallopian 
• Stage II B: to other small pelvis tissues 
• Stage II C: as in stage II A or II B, but also with cancerous cells in the abdominal fluid
• stage III: there are sores in the abdominal cavity outside the small pelvis, for example in the stomach or in the fat shortage
• Stage IV: There are ovarian cancer in the body, for example in the lungs

Doctors speak at stage I and II A at an early stage. And at the other stages of an advanced stage. Ovarian cancer is usually only found in this advanced stage.
Only during an operation can the doctor finally determine at what stage the disease is.

Differentiation

Healthy (stem) cells can develop into different types of cells. This is called differentiation or outreach. By differentiation, a cell gets the features and functions that the cell needs. For example, cells rip into red blood cells, muscle cells or nerve cells.

Cancer cells appear to a greater or lesser extent on healthy cells. The differentiation rate of a tumor indicates how strongly the cancer cells differ from the healthy cells. This degree of differentiation says something about the speed of parts, and something about the behavior of the tumor and the prospects. Another word for differentiation is tumor degradation.
A pathologist determines the differentiation of the tumor. He does this by examining the cancer cells under the microscope.

Rating

Malignant tumors are usually classified into 3 grades:

• Grade I: The cancer cells are well differentiated. This means that the tumor cells to a large extent resemble healthy cells of the organ in which they originate. The cancer cells usually grow slowly. Grade I is also called low grade.
• Grade II: Cancer cells are moderately differentiated, They seem less and less healthy on healthy cells. The cancer cells usually grow faster than normal cells and stick together quickly. Grade II is also called intermediate.
• Grade III: The cancer cells are poorly differentiated. They almost do not resemble healthy tissue. These cancer cells almost always grow much faster than normal cells. Grade III is also high grade.

There is also a Grade IV: these are undifferentiated cells. These are no longer in the healthy cells.

Some types of cancers use a different format to indicate tumor differentiation. Doctors use the rating for the choice of treatment.

You can also suffer from fatigue and weight loss, for no clear reason.

To the doctor

These symptoms do not necessarily mean that you have ovarian cancer. They may also have another cause.

If you stay for 2 to 3 weeks, go to your doctor. He can investigate you.
Will your stomach become thicker after the transition? Then it is wise to go to your doctor sooner.

Risk factors for ovarian cancer

The cause of ovarian cancer is unknown. It is well known that ovarian cancer is more common in women who have not had or few children. Ovarian cancer can occur at all ages but usually, occurs between 55 and 80 years.

There are indications that reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by:

• a large number of pregnancies
• to breastfeed
• The use of the contraceptive pill

Cancer is not contagious. Also ovarian cancer not. No intercourse is possible through sexual intercourse.

Heredity and ovarian cancer

About 10% of ovarian cancer women have had the disease through a hereditary plant. There are 2 forms of ovarian cancer that can be caused by heredity:
a combination of hereditary ovarian cancer with hereditary breast cancer ( BRCA )
The Lynch syndrome where ovarian cancer can interact with, among other things, colon cancer

Every woman with ovarian cancer is eligible for DNA research. This will allow the doctor to see if you have a hereditary form.

Ovarian cancer treatment

You will receive 1 or more of the following treatments:

• operation
• chemotherapy
• targeted therapy

Usually, you get a combination of these treatments.

Ovarian cancer usually only causes complaints at a later stage if the cancer is already spread in the abdominal cavity. The chance is therefore that you have ovarian cancer in an advanced stage. The treatment then consists of an operation in combination with chemotherapy.

Do you have a stage I or II A tumor? Then an operation in which the physician removes the tumor may be sufficient. You usually do not get chemotherapy.

In addition to the above treatments, you can participate in research trials. For example, you will receive a new treatment or combination of treatments where doctors are doing research. With this medical scientific research Test, doctors or new treatment is better than standard treatment.

Ascites drainage in ovarian cancer

You may have a lot of moisture in your stomach. Another word for this is ascites. The doctor can remove excess moisture with ascites drainage.
Irradiation in ovarian cancer
In ovarian cancer, you rarely get radiation. Irradiation is primarily given as palliative treatment in ovarian cancer. The goal is to reduce the complaints you have through the tumor itself or through showing in other tissues.

For example, you can be irradiated if you have a pain in bone or lymph nodes. You will then usually be irradiated 1 or a few times.

New Ovarian Cancer Developments

The research on ovarian cancer focuses on methods for early detection of the disease.

Doctors try to improve existing treatments by:

• To do a viewing operation if this is possible. Staging operations can be performed, for example, through a viewing operation. 
• Finding ways to predict which treatment is best for patients: Personalized Cancer Care. 
• Developing new drugs. Particularly targeted drugs or drugs that stimulate their own immune system: immunotherapy.
• The search for better combinations of treatments.

*Image source : Wikimedia Commons

References :

1. NCI
2. Mayoclinic
3. American Cancer Society