Dialog Box

Impact on Lifestyle

Having cancer and undergoing cancer treatment can be tough on just about every part of your body, mind and soul. As well as managing treatment and associated side effects, ovarian cancer can also result in changes to other aspects of your life. It is important to acknowledge your needs and find the best ways to care for your whole self.

Energy levels

Being active helps boost your energy, decrease fatigue, relieve stress, digestion and constipation, increase your appetite, and may reduce anxiety and depression, and increase your general wellbeing.

Eating well

Eating a variety of healthy foods and staying active can help improve your physical and overall wellbeing during and after your cancer treatment.

Early menopause

Menopause is a natural event that usually happens around the age of 50. However, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for ovarian cancer can cause ‘early menopause’ in women who have not yet reached menopause.

Emotional wellbeing, depression, anxiety and your spirituality

It can be difficult to know how to help keep your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being healthy, both during and after your treatment. Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is the beginning of an emotional journey with no rules, which can also intensify and cause upheaval in your spiritual life.

Intimacy and sexuality

Ovarian cancer and its treatment can profoundly affect the way you feel about yourself and your body, your sexual desire and your sexual relationship with others, whether or not you have a partner.

Returning to a “new normal” and fear of recurrence

In this section we talk about life after completing treatment, worries about cancer coming back, and the idea of returning to a ‘new normal.’

Work, study and finances

Deciding to continue, or return to work or study after treatment finishes, will depend on your health, financial situation and personal priorities. Cancer treatment can also result in additional financial pressures.

Managing a recurrence and fear around prognosis

It can be difficult to learn your cancer has come back, and it may also increase your anxiety about the possibility of dying. While a cure may not be possible at this stage, many women can live for an extended time with a good quality of life.

Genetics: what does this mean for me and my family?

Many women who have ovarian cancer or who have a relative with ovarian cancer want to find out if the cancer may be hereditary. Find out more about the impact of an ovarian cancer diagnosis on other family members’ risk.

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