Ovarian cancer will strike an estimated 23,100 women in the United States in 2000 and cause an estimated 14,000 deaths. Ovarian cancer usually occurs without obvious signs or symptoms and thus 70% of women with ovarian carcinoma present with advanced disease. The clinical course for patients with advanced disease usually involves aggressive therapies including multiple abdominal surgeries and chemotherapy regimens. Surgery typically includes total abdominal hysterectomy and removal of the ovaries. High dose adjuvant chemotherapy is often used.

Because of the usually late stage of diagnosis of ovarian cancer, poor prognosis, and debilitating treatment options, the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer has numerous physical, psychological, and social effects. Despite the extensive effects of ovarian cancer and its treatment on quality of life issues, few studies have focused on studying quality of life among women with ovarian cancer.

Given the consistency of findings with respect to the profound effects of ovarian cancer on quality of life, we clearly need to develop effective ways to help women with this disease. The literature further suggests that quality of life issues differ by treatment stage. That is, the issues differ for women according to whether they are newly diagnosed, in treatment, post-treatment, or experiencing a recurrence. To be most effective, interventions should be targeted to treatment stage. However, we currently lack good empirical data on quality of life issues at each treatment stage for ovarian cancer.

We believe that quality of life issues for women with ovarian cancer differ according to treatment stage. The purpose of the proposed research is to find this out. The objectives of the proposed research are as follows: (1) to determine the specific quality of life issues for women at each treatment stage of ovarian cancer (newly diagnosed, in treatment, and post-treatment); (2) to identify characteristics of women who have better quality of life at these time points; (3) to propose interventions targeted to treatment stage that can be tested in future research; and (4) to obtain pilot data on problems and quality of life issues for women who experience a recurrence.

We will interview newly diagnosed women at the time of diagnosis and follow them during and after their course of treatment. Patients for the study will be recruited from women being treated for ovarian cancer at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The interviews will contain both open-ended questions about quality of life issues as well as questionnaires assessing problem areas and quality of life. Additional questions on coping and social support will be used to identify characteristics of women who have better quality of life.

At the conclusion of the study, interventions will be identified that target specific quality of life issues for women at different treatment stages of ovarian cancer.