OVARIAN CANCER

Early determination of how far the ovarian cancer has spread is key to selecting the most appropriate treatment…and PET Scanning can help.

Ovarian cancer starts in a woman's ovaries. Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer for women and is fifth in cancer deaths. There will be about 2,500 new cases of ovarian cancer this year in Canada, and about 1,550 women will die of the disease. The outlook for a person who has a malignant tumour depends on the kind of tumour and how far it has spread. The chances of survival from ovarian cancer are better if the cancer is found early.

How PET can make a difference

• PET is by far the best imaging procedure for ovarian cancer patients, even better than direct visualization at laparotomy. PET can diagnose the primary tumour and the spread of the disease earlier in the course of the disease.
• Staging with PET offers a more accurate diagnostic work-up and treatment plan.
• Monitoring for recurrence and metastatic involvement with PET can take the place of a second-look surgical procedure.

Diagnosis and Early Detection

Only a small number of ovarian cancers are found at an early stage. Early cancers of the ovary often have no symptoms. Early tumours are hard for even skilled doctors to find and tumours on the ovary cannot usually be found through the Pap test. While new blood tests may change this in the future, right now, ovarian cancer is difficult to find at its earliest stage.

PET scanning can help...evaluating the primary tumour and determining the stage of the cancer immediately after it is found, so that the most appropriate therapy can be given.

The PET scan can accurately detect the cancer and see how far it may have spread. Call your physician or CareImaging PET Scan Clinic in Ontario for information about whether you might be a candidate for PET or to schedule a PET Scan.

Treatment follow-up and recurrence

Your doctor will schedule you for routine follow-up visits, and depending on the type of the cancer, may use blood tests to help watch for a possible recurrence. Your doctors may also order follow up imaging tests or second look surgeries. If the cancer does return, it is important that additional treatment begin immediately. This is also where PET can help.

PET is the most useful test that you can have when doctors are staging or re-staging your cancer because it can be more accurate than CT or other tests.

Imaging with PET is also critical to looking for the return of the cancer. Before PET, it was difficult to see if the cancer had come back. Earlier imaging tests might not see the cancer as sensitively as PET, which could result in a delay of further treatment. Blood tests that indicate that a tumour may be growing still does not tell doctors "where".

PET can be used to image tumour response to therapy and to detect recurrence in treated lesions. In many patients with ovarian cancers, a mass may develop or remain after treatment. The mass itself may be on CT scan, but CT cannot determine if the tumour is still growing. Post surgery and other treatments, PET is extremely important to monitor to see if the cancer cells have returned and if treatment should be re-started.

Find the support you need:

Find the support and information you need. If you've had cancer, there are programs offering information and support. The stress of any illness can often be helped by joining a support group where members share common experiences and problems

Support programs exist in a variety of formats, including counseling, support groups, and self-help programs. For those who cannot attend meetings, there are also on-line mechanisms that may allow a patient to "chat" with other people facing similar situations. These types of programs can provide a way for you to relate your experience firsthand with others and may provide treatment-related tips about drug side-effects that will be helpful to you.

More Information About Ovarian Cancer:

Canadian Cancer Society
Cancer Care Ontario
Ovarian Cancer Alliance Canada
National Ovarian Cancer Association