Recovering from ovarian cancer surgery

It takes time to recover physically and emotionally from cancer surgery. This is particularly true if you have had your womb and ovaries removed, although most of the information in this section also applies to the other operations you can have for ovarian cancer.

When you go home from hospital, be prepared to take it very easy for the first couple of weeks at least. You should spend most of your time resting with your feet up and avoid standing for more than a few minutes at a time.

To help yourself recover physically after your operation you shouldn't

• Carry heavy loads
• Do any heavy housework such as vacuuming
• Drive

for at least 4 weeks after you get home from hospital. This is to allow everything to heal inside you. For the first 6 weeks after your surgery, you can gradually build up the activity that you would normally do until you are more or less back to normal. But be aware that you will probably still get tired very easily. It is a good idea to avoid very physical activity and very heavy lifting for another few weeks after that. Avoid lifting anything heavier than 8lbs or 4kg. One lady told us

"I was very tired at first after the operation and
so did not feel like doing much. But as I couldn't drive
I did quite a bit of walking which helped me to
recover my fitness. I also really enjoyed it".

Do talk to your surgeon about your recovery period if you have any queries or concerns about how much activity you should be doing.

Driving

Before you go home from the hospital, talk to your surgeon about when to start driving again.  You should be able to start driving again anytime from a month after your surgery. But this is very individual. Don't feel you should be back to normal if you don't feel that you are. Some women feel very tired and have difficulty concentrating for a couple of months after surgery. You may also be having other cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which may slow your recovery down. See how you feel and take things at your own pace.

You should check your car insurance policy before you drive. Some insurance companies will not cover drivers for a number of weeks after surgery.

Sex can feel different after ovarian cancer surgery. Your vagina will be a bit shorter. But it is naturally very stretchy so this shouldn't make too much difference to you and your partner. But remember that having your womb removed means that you will have stitches at the top of your vagina where your cervix was taken out. So you shouldn't have full sex until these have healed. This takes about 3 or 4 weeks.  

But you may find that you don't feel ready to start being sexually active again that soon. It takes many women much longer than that. You may still have a bit of discomfort, so prefer to wait a bit longer.  And you will need to recover emotionally as well as physically. You may feel that your womb was an important part of your body and having had it taken away can affect how you feel about yourself sexually. You will no longer be able to become pregnant. And you won't have any more periods. Even if you were past your menopause before the surgery, losing your womb can be a very emotional experience. Many women find this more of a shock than they expected.

There is more about how cancer treatment can affect your sexuality and your sex life in the section about sex and cancer.

A diagnosis of cancer takes time to come to terms with. Having major surgery as well may make you feel very vulnerable. You are also likely to feel weak at first and to get tired very easily. This may make you feel quite down. Try to take comfort from the fact that this is a completely normal reaction to what has happened to you. Virtually everyone (if not everyone) who has a hysterectomy for cancer will feel the same. Your family and friends will need to be understanding and supportive while you come to terms with what has happened to you. But sometimes that is not enough.

Give yourself time. If you feel your recovery is taking longer than it should, you may want to talk to your GP about finding a counsellor or support group of other women who have been through a similar experience.

If you would like to find out about counselling and support groups in your area contact one of the organisations that provide a counselling service. They will be happy to help. Talking to someone outside your circle of family and friends about how you are feeling can help you to feel better.

If you have not yet had your menopause and you have both ovaries removed you will go into menopause following your surgery. This can cause symptoms such as

• Hot flushes
• Sweats
• Dry skin and dry vagina
• Tiredness
• Feeling emotional
• Anxiety and loss of confidence
• Thinning bones

These menopause symptoms can be quite intense because your ovaries have been suddenly removed, so your hormone levels fall quite quickly. The effects can go on for a few months. It is impossible to predict how long you will have these symptoms. It varies too much between women.

Some women find these symptoms very difficult to cope with. If you do, you can talk to your surgeon or cancer specialist about taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to control your menopause symptoms. As one lady told us

"The onset of the menopause was sudden, about 6 weeks
after my surgery, and was very difficult to cope with. I had
night sweats and also found it difficult to concentrate or remember things.
HRT improved my quality of life and I'd find it harder
to cope day to day without it".

Some people don't feel comfortable about taking extra hormones. You may be worried about the cancer risk. This is a subject of debate in the medical world. But there is no hard evidence that HRT increases the risk of ovarian cancer coming back. We do know that HRT slightly increases the risk of breast cancer in the general population. You can discuss this with your doctor if you would like to take HRT but are concerned about any risks. If you do not want to take HRT, the section about sex and cancer for women has some ways to control menopausal symptoms without taking HRT. There is also information about hormone symptoms in the coping physically section.