How long does chemotherapy take to work for ovarian cancer?

Treatment may be given before surgery, after surgery, or when ovarian cancer has returned. The purpose and timing of the review therefore vary. Your team may assess abdominal swelling, pelvic discomfort, appetite, bowel or bladder pressure and energy, then compare examination findings with scans. A blood test for a tumour marker may support the assessment when that marker was raised previously, but it is interpreted alongside the rest of your results.

Keep each appointment for blood tests and treatment review. Note changes in abdominal symptoms, eating, bowel habits, neuropathy and fatigue, including when they began. Tell the team about medicines, supplements and side effects before treatment is given. Ask whether the planned scan is checking response, preparing for surgery or investigating a new symptom. Continue the agreed course unless your oncology team tells you to pause or change it.

Contact your treatment team promptly for fever, repeated vomiting, inability to keep fluids down, new bleeding, severe abdominal pain, increasing abdominal swelling or breathlessness. These symptoms can reflect infection, dehydration, bowel problems or fluid build-up and should not wait for a routine scan. Use emergency services for collapse, severe breathing difficulty or sudden chest pain.

When is my response review? Will you use imaging, a tumour marker, or both? Is surgery part of the plan? Which side effects need a same-day call?