Learn what a typical Ovarian cancer prognosis is at Consumer Reports Health.

Ovarian cancer

What will happen to me?

Ovarian cancer is serious, but it can be treated. No-one can say for sure what will happen to you, if you have ovarian cancer. Different people react to cancer and to treatments in different ways.

No one can predict what will happen to you as an individual. All we can do is talk about what happened to other people with ovarian cancer, in studies.

Here are some things you should know.

Doctors usually talk about how likely it is you'll be alive five years after your cancer is diagnosed. This is because ovarian cancer is most likely to come back in the first five years.
You'll probably always need to be careful and have regular checkups, even 20 years later.
Doctors can't tell for sure what course your cancer will take. For example, some women with advanced ovarian cancer still live a long time.

What will happen to you depends mainly on the following things.

The stage of your cancer: The lower the stage, the longer you're likely to live and the better your chance of being cured. (To learn how doctors tell the stage of your cancer, see What stage is my ovarian cancer?) In studies, more than 90 percent of women with stage 1 ovarian cancer were cured.

Source:
Blake P, Lambert H, Crawford R.
Cancer of the ovary and fallopian tube.
In: Blake P, Lambert H, Crawford R (editors). Gynaecological oncology: a guide to clinical management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK; 1998.

¹ Unfortunately, ovarian cancer is usually at stage 3 or 4 by the time it's found. This makes a cure less likely.
The grade of your cancer: The lower the grade, the better your outlook. (To learn how doctors tell the grade of your cancer, see What grade is my ovarian cancer?) This is because low-grade tumors are less likely to spread than high-grade tumors. But the grade isn't quite as important as the stage.
How much cancer is left after surgery: A surgeon will try to remove as much of your cancer as possible. But sometimes surgeons can't remove all of the cancer. The less cancer that's left, the longer you're likely to live.

For more information see Survival rates for ovarian cancer. But remember, we can't tell you what your personal chance is of surviving ovarian cancer.

Sources for the information on this page:

Blake P, Lambert H, Crawford R.Cancer of the ovary and fallopian tube.In: Blake P, Lambert H, Crawford R (editors). Gynaecological oncology: a guide to clinical management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK; 1998.

This information was last updated on May 12, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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