Focus on Gynecologic Cancer

Your questions should be direct and clear. Don’t assume your doctor can read between the lines.

Communicating with Your Doctor after an Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

by Stephanie V. Blank, MD

 

Of course, it’s not only women with ovarian cancer who need to consider the importance of communication with their doctor – anyone who has ever had cancer, or anyone who has ever been to the doctor, can improve their care by taking time to consider what they need and want to learn from interaction with their physician. Here, we’ll address issues specific to ovarian cancer, but many of these concepts are universal.

CA-125

by Thomas J. Herzog, MD, and Robert L. Coleman, MD

Women who are suspected of having ovarian cancer and women who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer often receive a blood test to measure their CA-125 level. CA-125 is a substance found in the blood called a glycoprotein (a sugar-associated protein). It is commonly referred to as a biomarker or tumor marker because it provides information about the biological state of a disease (ovarian cancer) and is obtained by a blood sample from which a level can be measured. But it is more accurately considered a tumor associated protein because elevated CA-125 levels do not always indicate ovarian cancer, and levels can be misleading.

Modified Chemotherapy Regimen Effective in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Women with advanced ovarian cancer lived longer and without their tumors growing after receiving a modified regimen of a standard chemotherapy drug combination.