I have recently been diagnosed with the early stages of ovarian cancer. I%26#039;m told I will have surgery and then that will be followed by chemo. I%26#039;m still not sure what to expect about everything.|||I%26#039;m so sorry. This is really a hard diagnosis when you are just 17 years old. But the good thing is that this is the early stages of ovarian cancer. There is treatment.

The first thing you need to find out is the exact name of your cancer. It is unusual for a 17 year old to have ovarian cancer .. not impossible, but unusual. Check to make sure it is not a small round cell cancer that is common in childhood.

In general if you only have one tumor than surgery will remove the whole thing. The doctor will look around to make sure that there is only one. If there are no complications you will be in the hospital about 7 - 10 days, if that long. At 17 you will heal rapidly. Depending on what they find during surgery than adjuvant chemotherapy will be offered. This is just to make sure that no microscopic cancer cells got away from the original tumor and spread. The chemotherapy can kill off unseen cancer cells.

American Cancer Society: What is Ovarian Cancer

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/conten…

NCI: Ovarian Cancer

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/t…

Fertile Hope

http://www.fertilehope.org/

Here are a few sites for teenagers that might help you out:

Planet Cancer

http://www.planetcancer.org/

Teens Living with Cancer

http://www.teenslivingwithcancer.org/

2bme

http://www.2bme.org/2bMe.html

Group Loop

http://www.grouploop.org/default_flash.p…

Good luck to you. Stay strong.|||If the cancer has not spread, you have probably a good prognosis after removal and chemotherapy. You are young and strong enough to deal with it. Be brave!|||Harvest some of her eggs. That way in the future she will have the ooportunity to become the mother of her own children if she so chooses.

My understanding is she will be stile once she is cured, but modernn medicine may find a fix for that. Me I would err on the side of caution and keep as many options open for her as possible.

After she has her whole life ahead of her.

Good luck. She%26#039;ll be in my prayers.|||I have a friend at work, she%26#039;s the department%26#039;s secretary, she was diagnosed with early stage ovarian cancer about 10 years ago. She got chemo then got the ovaries removed. She has been cancer free since then. The only thing is, without ovaries, you can%26#039;t conceive children. I%26#039;m so sorry this happened to you. God Bless You|||I have never experienced what you are going through so I cant answer your question. I just wanted to say Good Luck, I said a prayer for you. You are young and you can beat this!|||You have a long road ahead of you. But at your age, and the fact that it was caught early enough to seek treatment is a good thing. Focus on the good. I have had a lot of family with cancer, those that have had a LESS hard time are those that do not focus on the cancer but focus on the AFTER… the getting better.

Physically you should expect… nauseas… vomiting.. weakness. from the chemo. Get lots of rest. You will probably lose your hair, so get a wig now Before you start chemo.

That%26#039;s the down side. BUT when the chemo is over, you will be surprised how well you feel.

I hope that helps. Lots of health and luck to you. If you are a spirtiual person that will help you out a lot more. Look into prayer and meditation for those hard moments.|||I would recommeND a 2nd opinion, My wife is a breast cancer survivor which is totally a different issue but try seeking a prognosis another specialist. But at your age it sounds rare but in any case keep up your moral and medical technology will see you Thur and god bless you.|||I%26#039;m so sorry about this. It is something no young person should ever have to go through. But, please, know that this wasn%26#039;t brought on to you by God. One of the first things people do is say, %26quot;Why God! Why did you do this!%26quot; or, %26quot;Why God! Why did you let this happen!%26quot; It has nothing to do with God at all. God is healing, is love, is life. It is just something we humans have to live with while in this temporary body on earth. And, that%26#039;s all it is. Temporary. This body allows us to prepare our soul for eternity. Where do you want to spend eternity. Find it in your Bible. Until then, reach out to God. Don%26#039;t ask Him why. Just ask Him what you can learn through this, and what others can learn. Also, it is not the end. I know that the doctors can take care of this and you will be fine. You may not be able to have children, or you may. But, this isn%26#039;t final. And, I%26#039;m sitting here praying for you and I know many others who believe in Jesus are praying for you as well. Love God with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path. Girlfriend - you are now in God%26#039;s hands. And, one more thing. Get a lot of peaches. Take the pits, break them open and eat as many as you can. Peach pits fight cancer big time and many patients come out clean as a whistle and never get cancer back. God created peach pits.. Thank Him in all things.|||My daughter had ovarian cancer at 15.She is 29 now and cancer free for many years.Hopefully you have a great support system and a possitive additude as this is important in your recovery.If you would like you can email me your addy and i can have my daughter get in touch with you.God Bless you sweetie.lillulu460@yahoo.com|||You will have surgery to remove the cancer. Shortly after they will set up your appts for chemotherapy. Your doctor should give you a print out with the names of the medications and their possible side effects. Be prepared for anything. Ask that they give you an antinausea medication before EACH treatment. Also, when the do the surgery to remove the cancer have them install a port-a-cath. This will make chemo much easier! A Port attaches to the muscle in the chest and a line is run directly into your vein. So, instead of getting poked for a IV each time they just numb the skin covering your port and put the needle in there.