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Ovarian Cancer Care

When you’re a patient at Swedish, we don’t just treat your ovarian cancer – we treat you. We use the most advanced treatments to create a highly personalized care plan. We also support you and your loved ones with a full range of services throughout your entire cancer journey. The result is effective, whole-person care for your body, mind and spirit.


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Phone: 206-991-2000

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Why Choose Us for Ovarian Cancer Care?

At Swedish, we see the life in you. Together, let’s finish cancer – so you don’t have to miss any of life’s special moments.

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All ovarian-cancer patients at Swedish benefit from a multidisciplinary approach to care that encompasses leading-edge imaging techniques, the latest in treatment options, a robust platform of clinical trials, and a full selection of high-quality support services. Our multidisciplinary care teams meet regularly to share information and discuss patient cases, in order to determine an integrated course of care for each person.

At the Swedish Cancer Institute, women with ovarian cancer, as well as those with uterine and cervical cancer, receive care through a nationally-recognized gynecological cancer program – the fourth-highest volume ovarian cancer center in the United States. This includes the expertise of a renowned team of physicians and other specialists. If surgery is required, our world-class gynecologic surgeons use the most advanced techniques when treating your ovarian cancer. It’s a team-based approach to ovarian cancer care. Your care team may also include oncology nurse navigators, physical therapists and other cancer specialists. We also provide you and your family with a full range of support services well beyond conventional treatment – from genetic counseling and education to nutrition and pain management.

Learn more about the experts who make up our multidisciplinary cancer care teams.

Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but access to great ovarian cancer care hasn’t always been the same for everyone. At Swedish, we are deeply committed to making sure every patient we treat has access to the best cancer care. We offer various location-specific services to help our patients receive equitable care, such as translation for non-English-speaking patients, telehealth and transportation assistance. We value, respect and support the racial, ethnic, religious, spiritual, gender, and sexual identities of each member of our diverse communities, and we welcome all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. We aim to make sure every patient is treated equally and with dignity – whoever you are, and wherever you’re at.

Swedish is one of the founders of the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research, which is dedicated to saving lives and reducing suffering through improved treatment, early detection and prevention of ovarian cancer.

Our ovarian cancer research team is highly involved in advancing our field in both early detection of ovarian cancer and offering newer progressive treatments for the disease. In the most recent worldwide trial of ovarian cancer (The FIRST Study/ENGOT-OV44), Swedish Cancer Institute was the 6th highest enrolling site in the world of 197 sites overall. Our commitment to affording patients the potential advantages of novel treatment paradigms is evidenced in our large number of clinical trials for ovarian cancer, including studies evaluating ovarian cancer tissue to develop newer therapies, investigating new techniques that may lead to earlier detection of ovarian cancer (uterine lavage), as well as active treatment trials which are evaluating a variety of active biologic agents to hopefully improve outcomes and change the landscape of this disease.

About Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is a type of gynecologic cancer that forms in the cells of the ovaries, where females produce eggs. The expert oncology teams at Swedish use the most effective therapies to treat patients with every type of ovarian cancer and its related conditions.

Testing and Diagnostics

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Diagnostic tools help our cancer clinicians determine which therapies will work best for each patient, based on many factors like cancer type and the genetic or molecular profile of the tumor. Your doctors will use multiple advanced diagnostic and prognostic tools to help design your individualized treatment plan. Depending on your case, this may include one or more of the following:

Personalized Treatment for Ovarian Cancer

We take a team approach to your ovarian cancer treatment because we know this offers the best success in controlling and curing cancer. Your multidisciplinary cancer care team will work with you to design an individualized cancer care plan, from diagnosis to post-treatment support. We offer many different therapies across our Swedish locations. Depending on your condition, your personal care plan may include one or more of the following:

Systemic Therapies Surgical Therapies Radiation Therapies Additional Therapies High Risk Program
Systemic Therapies

Systemic therapies travel through the bloodstream and affect cells in other body parts. They are used for patients whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body or if there’s a high risk of spread. Sophisticated genetic analysis allows us to target therapies to specific DNA mutations that cause cancer cells to develop and grow. Systemic therapies include:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Clinical trials
  • Hormone therapy
  • Immunotherapy
  • Molecularly targeted therapies

Surgical therapies involve an operation or procedure to remove cancer from the body. Surgery may be the main treatment for some invasive cancers, but it’s only one part of the entire treatment plan. Surgical therapies include:

  • Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO)
  • Hysterectomy
  • Pelvic exenteration
  • Radical hysterectomy
  • Radical vulvectomy – partial and complete
  • Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLN)
  • Sentinel lymph node dissection – groin
  • Trachelectomy (fertility-sparing surgery)
  • Vaginectomy with reconstruction
  • Wide local excision – ovarian

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from a source like X-rays or photons to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. It may be part of a treatment plan that also includes systemic therapies and/or surgery. Radiation is sometimes used to help ease a patient’s pain or discomfort. Radiation therapies include:

  • Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
  • Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Swedish locations.
  • Stereotactic radiation (SABR/SBRT) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Swedish locations.
  • Surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT/SIGRT) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Swedish locations.
  • Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT)

Additional therapies may also be part of the treatment plan for a small number of patients. These may include:

  • Hyperthermic (or heated) intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) Note: This advanced therapy is not available at all Swedish locations.

The High-Risk Breast and Ovarian Cancer Program is dedicated to identifying individuals who are at high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer due to family, medical or personal health history. Our goal is to develop and implement a personalized risk-reduction and screening plan for each patient.

Watch a video to learn about the program and what you can expect if you have concerns about being at high-risk for breast or ovarian cancer.

What we offer
  • Comprehensive clinical evaluation
  • Cancer risk assessment and health education
  • Personal plan for risk reduction, high-risk surveillance and management
  • Genetic testing for hereditary predisposition to cancer

Find Ovarian Cancer Care Close to You

Accreditations

We are proud to see our dedication to our cancer patients recognized by some of the most well-respected programs and institutions in the United States. Several of our Swedish locations have achieved the following accreditations:

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Meet the Team

At Swedish, you'll have access to a vast network of dedicated and compassionate providers who offer personalized care by focusing on treatment, prevention and health education.

Find Clinical Trials

Are you looking for a clinical trial for yourself or for a patient? We’d love to help you find one!

Learn more about clinical trials
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