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Part I - Cancer Industry Overview:  
Part II - Initial Diagnosis of Cancer: 
  a. The diagnosis (making sure to get info on the specific type and staging of the cancer.....there are 30 types of ovarian cancer). 
  b. The importance of a second opinion. 
  c. Surgical vs. needle biopsy  
  d. The importance of "sentinel node" procedure in determining lymph node involvement as part of cancer staging. 
  e. A critical test if chemotherapy is a treatment option - chemosensitivity testing (must preserve live cancer tissue at time of surgery). 
  f.  The importance of clear margins (preferably wide) if surgery option is used (get a copy of the pathology report). 
  g.  The importance of using one of the Cancer Consulting services. 
  h. Checking on limitations or advanced approvals required from health insurance provider. 
  i. The importance of keeping a detailed medical log of dates of all doctors visits and exact procedures performed, including test results. 
  j. The need for another relative or friend to attend all consultations (i.e. will give another set of ears on what is said and someone to discuss therapy options with).
 k. The importance of obtaining  baseline readings on critcal tests so that treatment options can be measured to determine if their effective. 

Part III - Cancer Therapy Options:
Part IV - Nutrition for Cancer:
Part V - More Cancer Resources:
Part VI - Cancer Medical Terms:
Part VII - Survivor Characteristics:
Part VIII - Self-help Approaches:
Part IX - Testimonials of Survivors:
Part X - Forum for Patients:
Part XI - What I would do:
Part XII - Recent Developments:
Part XIII - Other Cancer Info:

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Part II - Dealing with the Initial Diagnosis of Cancer:
          a. The Diagnosis

It is important to note that for many people, the diagnosis of cancer can result in several phases of processing this information:

    Shock and the feeling of a crisis,  or in some cases, even denial; 

    Anxiety and being overwhelmed by the amount of critical information being presented;  

    Anger and “why me”, or “how did I get cancer with my healthy life style”.  

Some seek comfort and help from family and friends, while others withdraw and don’t want to discuss this diagnosis with anyone.  It’s sort of like the stages of grieving and everyone has to do what they are most comfortable with.

With that said, the following steps should be considered for effectively moving forward:

Make sure that you have someone with you when you meet with your medical doctor so you will have another set of ears on what is said and also someone who you can discuss the diagnosis with later.  It is imperative that you get specific information on the type and stage of cancer (i.e. in medical terms such as ”surface epithelial-stromal tumors, stage 2c” rather than just “ovarian cancer, stage 2”).  This will aid in any research or discussions with other medical centers that you may do.  It is also helpful to know the tumor volume (size) if possible.

It is important that you begin to keep records of all meetings and procedures performed as this again will be critical if there are any later discussions with other medical centers.  If you choose not to do this there is the option of obtaining a copy of your medical records.

If  your diagnosis of cancer involves further testing of lymph nodes for determination of any spreading (metastasis) for staging purposes, one should explore the possibility of the “sentinel node” approach, where a dye is injected near the tumor and after a waiting period, only those lymph nodes that have received the dye are removed.  This approach is now widely used, particularly for breast cancer, and is highly reliable and avoids the potential side effects of lymphodema, where there can be significant swelling in that area due to insufficient lymph nodes to remove fluids.

Development of a “cancer battle plan” is an early action that should be considered.  Such a plan would look like that shown below:

                                    Cancer Battle Plan  

1.  Confirm Diagnosis: (Cancer type, staging, and tumor volume).  First, learn test options and get specifics on diagnosis.  Then, find an expert oncologist and pathologist for a second opinion.

2.  Increase knowledge of cancer via consulting services and Internet research (while waiting for test results.  (See sources listed on this website for assistance in this area)
3.  Explore therapy options and side effects or risks. 
    a.  Identify conventional therapy options (Surgery, Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Biological) 
    b.  Explore possibility of gene mutation testing for use in targeted therapy. 
    c.  Identify promising integrative/complementary therapy options. 
    d.  Explore detoxification and liver protection alternatives.

4.  Begin nutritional diet and supplement regimen to build up the immune system.

5.  Choose the most promising cancer treatment options.

6.  Find the best medical center for that type of cancer and identify best team of doctors:  oncologist, radiologist, surgeon, etc.   In the case of surgery, be sure to preserve cancer tissue for chemosensitivity testing in the event that option is chosen

7.  Take a holistic approach, using the best medical treatment option, adopting a focused nutritional diet for cancer patients, taking supplements for immune enhancement, detoxification, and liver protection.