Ovarian Cancer: No Further Options?

At some point your physician(s) may tell you that there is nothing else to offer in terms of standard therapies and that you are going to die from the cancer. This is obviously a very scary and emotional moment, but at some point it may be the best advice your doctor can give you. At some point the treatment is worse than the disease and your trusted physician(s) have a moral obligation to tell you that this time has arrived.

However, before blindly accepting this statement, make sure of the following:

You feel that indeed the treatments seem to be worse than the disease and that you are no longer tolerating the chemotherapy very well with severe side effects robbing you of decent quality of life.

If you don't feel that way, you have asked your doctor what is preventing you from receiving more. It is possible that your bone marrow will not handle any more chemotherapy despite growth factor support. Discuss the details.

You have undergone at least 3 or 4 different standard chemotherapy types, and the cancer seems to be resistant to all of them or growing back very quickly after each attempt. Keep in mind that the longer you have between recurrences, especially the first time, the more likely your cancer will keep responding to various chemotherapy drugs. Therefore the range of 3-4 chemotherapy types is an arbitrary one for the minimum attempts to cure or control the cancer, and is more applicable if your cancer is a rapidly growing one. Give yourself a chance!

You have asked your doctor(s) about “clinical trials” or research drugs that may be an option for you. There are various types of clinical trials.

You have asked about the supportive care options you have, such as hospice programs, which will help you in all aspects of quality of life and symptom control (e.g. pain).

You have prepared an “advanced directive” document at some point to let everyone know what your wishes are in case of emergency. You may or may not want extraordinary lifesaving procedures to be done when there is no hope for a good quality of life. An example can be obtained via the link below. But please be sure that the one you file is valid in your State of residence. California example Advanced Directive