Ovarian Cancer Treatment in Ahmedabad

If a recent ultrasound found a cyst on your ovary, the first thing to know is: most ovarian cysts are not cancer. Ovarian cysts are very common. Many women have them at some point in life, often without knowing.

Three categories your gynaecologist will use:

What to do if your scan shows a simple cyst:

1. Continue with your gynaecologist. They will usually arrange a repeat ultrasound in 6–12 weeks.
2. Do not assume the worst. Most simple cysts go away on their own without any treatment.
3. Watch for new symptoms — sudden severe pain, fever, or fainting can mean a cyst has twisted or ruptured (call your gynaecologist promptly, but this still does not mean cancer).
4. A cancer specialist visit is generally not needed unless the cyst falls into the “suspicious” category in the table above.

If you are not sure which category your cyst falls into, your gynaecologist is the best person to advise. If they recommend specialist review, that is the right time to come to us.

CA-125 is a protein measured in a blood test. It is best known as an ovarian cancer marker — but many non-cancer conditions also raise CA-125. A single high reading does not mean cancer.

Common non-cancer reasons for a raised CA-125:

• Endometriosis — one of the most common causes
• Uterine fibroids
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or pelvic infection
• Ovulation (around mid-cycle)
• Menstruation (just before or during a period)
• Pregnancy, especially the first trimester
• Recent abdominal or pelvic surgery
• Liver disease (cirrhosis, hepatitis)
• Heart failure with fluid in the abdomen
• Tuberculosis of the abdomen
• Other benign ovarian conditions (simple cysts can raise it slightly)

How to interpret the result

A mildly elevated CA-125 — particularly in a woman who is still having periods, or who has known endometriosis, fibroids, or recent pelvic infection — often comes from one of the non-cancer causes listed above. It does not, by itself, indicate cancer.

A significantly elevated CA-125 has fewer benign explanations, particularly after menopause, and is more likely to be evaluated together with imaging.

The trend over time matters more than a single reading. A CA-125 that stays stable across repeat tests is very different from one that is rising steadily — the latter is more likely to need further investigation. This is one of the main reasons your gynaecologist will often repeat the test a few weeks later before drawing any conclusion.

What to do if your CA-125 is mildly elevated:

• Discuss the result with your gynaecologist first. They know your history.
• Look for benign causes — was the test done around your period? Do you have known endometriosis or fibroids?
• Repeat the test after a few weeks so the trend, not just one number, is visible.
• Pair it with imaging — a single number is not diagnostic.
• A cancer specialist visit is generally not needed for an isolated, mildly elevated CA-125 without other findings.

If your CA-125 is significantly elevated, rising over time, or combined with a suspicious scan — that is when specialist review is appropriate.

For most women with cyst or CA-125 concerns, your own gynaecologist is the right first stop — not a cancer specialist. Gynaecologists are trained to assess and follow ovarian cysts, interpret CA-125 in context, arrange repeat imaging, and decide when escalation is needed.

Your gynaecologist is the right first stop when:

• A scan has found a simple cyst (thin-walled, fluid only, under 5 cm)
• You have a single, mildly elevated CA-125 without a suspicious scan
• You have new pelvic symptoms that need an examination and basic investigation
• A previously-known fibroid, endometrioma, or functional cyst is being monitored
• You need a repeat scan or repeat blood test in a few weeks

The right next step is then…

If after follow-up the findings settle, no further action is needed — your gynaecologist closes the file.

If something shifts — the cyst grows, the CA-125 rises, the scan shows new features, or your gynaecologist wants a specialist eye on the case — that is when a women’s cancer specialist consultation is appropriate.

Many ovarian cysts and mildly abnormal test results can be appropriately monitored by a gynaecologist. Specialist input becomes most valuable when scans, blood tests, or symptoms suggest a higher level of concern. Specialist consultations are most useful when there is a specific clinical reason — the next section explains what those reasons look like.

A women’s cancer specialist (gynaecological oncologist) consultation is appropriate when any of these apply:

• A scan has shown a suspicious ovarian cyst — solid parts inside (“complex”), thick walls, bigger than 8–10 cm, or found after menopause
• A scan has shown fluid in the abdomen (ascites) without another explanation
• Your CA-125 is significantly elevated, particularly after menopause, and a scan is also suspicious
• A biopsy or surgery has confirmed ovarian, fallopian-tube, or primary peritoneal cancer
• You carry a BRCA1, BRCA2, or Lynch syndrome gene change and want to discuss risk-reducing options
• Your gynaecologist has explicitly referred you for specialist review
• You have been told you have ovarian cancer and want a second opinion before surgery or chemotherapy

A cancer specialist’s role is to evaluate suspicious findings, plan surgery if needed, and coordinate any chemotherapy or targeted treatment. If your situation falls outside the list above, your gynaecologist remains the right person to follow you.

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Most women with bloating, pelvic discomfort, or appetite changes do not have ovarian cancer. These symptoms are common and usually caused by digestive issues, hormonal changes, fibroids, or stress. But because ovarian cancer can look like ordinary stomach trouble in its early stages, it is worth knowing which patterns are worth getting checked.

The pattern that is worth checking — when several of these are true together:

• Persistent bloating that does not settle (rather than bloating that comes and goes with food)
• Feeling full quickly when eating, ongoing for several weeks
• Pelvic or lower-belly pain that is new and steady
• Needing to pass urine more often or more urgently without an infection
• Unexplained weight loss or persistent tiredness

The threshold that is genuinely meaningful: several of these symptoms occurring together, persistently, for more than three to four weeks, and feeling unlike your normal pattern.

A few days of bloating, or one of these symptoms in isolation, is almost never ovarian cancer. The symptoms most worth investigating are the ones that persist, occur together, and feel out of character for you.

If this pattern fits you, the right first step is usually a pelvic ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test, arranged by your gynaecologist or GP — not a direct cancer-specialist visit.

In many cases — especially when it is found early — yes. The honest picture, by stage:

Your own outlook depends on stage, fitness, how completely visible tumour can be removed at surgery, your response to chemotherapy, and whether you carry a BRCA gene change (which often responds better to chemo and to PARP inhibitor maintenance).

Specific numbers for your case are discussed during your appointment with the specialist.

Many patients travel to Ahmedabad from across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh for women’s cancer care.

If you already have scans, biopsy reports, discharge summaries, or treatment records, our care team may request copies of these while helping coordinate your appointment. This helps the care team prepare for your consultation and guide you on the next administrative steps.

Records that are useful to bring (or share when the team requests them):

• Ultrasound and CT / MRI / PET-CT reports (and scan images if available)
• Biopsy or surgical pathology report
• CA-125 (and HE4 if done) blood test results, with trend over time
• Any chemotherapy summary or prior surgery notes
• BRCA / genetic test results (if done)
• Family history of cancer
• A list of current medicines and allergies

How the visit usually works:

1. Contact our care team to discuss what you need
2. Share your available records if the team requests them while coordinating your appointment
3. Attend your in-clinic specialist consultation
4. You leave with a written treatment plan from the specialist

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No single test confirms ovarian cancer on its own. The diagnosis is built from several findings together:

• Pelvic ultrasound (often transvaginal) — to see whether there is a mass on the ovary, its size, and characteristics
• CT scan of chest, abdomen, and pelvis — to see whether anything has spread
• CA-125 (and sometimes HE4) blood test — markers that can rise with ovarian cancer but also with many non-cancer conditions
• MRI of the pelvis — used in selected cases for soft-tissue detail
• PET-CT scan — used in advanced cases to map spread before surgery
• Tissue sample (biopsy) or surgery — the only way to confirm cancer with certainty is to examine tissue under the microscope
• Genetic test (BRCA, Lynch) — offered to every woman with confirmed ovarian, fallopian-tube, or primary peritoneal cancer

Which tests are appropriate for your case is decided during your consultation. Doing too many tests is just as unhelpful as doing too few.

Each stage has sub-categories (1A–1C, 3A–3C, 4A–4B) that fine-tune treatment planning. Your final stage is usually decided after surgery, because the surgeon can see exactly where the cancer has spread.

Ovarian cancer treatment is built around three tools, usually combined:

1. Surgery — The cornerstone for almost every stage.

• Early stage (1–2): Removal of the affected ovary, fallopian tube, and sometimes the uterus. Fertility-preserving options exist for younger women with very early cancer.
• Advanced stage (3–4): Cancer-removal surgery (cytoreductive surgery). A long operation aiming to remove every visible piece of tumour — the single biggest reason advanced patients live longer.

2. Chemotherapy

• Standard regimen: carboplatin and paclitaxel, every 3 weeks for 6 cycles
• Usually given after surgery; sometimes given before surgery (neoadjuvant) when the cancer is too widespread to operate on first

3. Targeted medicines

• PARP inhibitors (olaparib, niraparib, rucaparib) — for women whose cancer carries a BRCA gene change or HRD-positive marker; usually given as maintenance after chemotherapy
• Bevacizumab — for selected advanced cases

Most women need a combination. The right combination for your case is decided during your consultation.

HIPEC stands for heated chemotherapy in the abdomen. It is used during cancer-removal surgery for selected stage 3 and stage 4 cases where cancer has spread along the peritoneal lining.

Surgery removes what the eye can see; warm chemotherapy treats the microscopic cells the eye cannot.

HIPEC is not for every ovarian cancer patient. It is only considered when:

• The cancer is limited to the abdomen (stage 3, sometimes selected stage 4)
• Every visible tumour can be safely removed in one operation (complete cytoreduction)
• The patient is fit enough for a long surgery (8–14 hours)

If you have been told you have stage 3 ovarian cancer, an in-clinic second-opinion consultation can help you understand whether HIPEC is appropriate for your specific case.

Read full HIPEC page →

In many early-stage cases, yes. For a younger woman with stage 1 ovarian cancer affecting only one ovary, fertility-preserving surgery is often possible — removing the affected ovary and fallopian tube while keeping the uterus and the other ovary, so pregnancy is still possible.

Fertility-preserving surgery is generally suitable when:

• The cancer is at stage 1 (only in the ovary)
• It is in only one ovary
• The cell type behaves predictably (well-differentiated, not aggressive)
• You want future pregnancy

For more advanced cancers, fertility preservation is usually not safe — the cancer needs full removal, which means both ovaries and the uterus.

Egg or ovarian-tissue freezing before chemotherapy can be considered when fertility preservation by surgery alone is not possible. If fertility matters to you, raise it at your first appointment — the earlier the team knows, the more options remain open.

Ovarian cancer cost depends heavily on the stage and the surgery needed.

For an estimate based on your specific case, contact our care team. The care team can coordinate your appointment, and the hospital billing office confirms final figures once your treatment plan is set during your consultation.

See related cost detail page: Ovarian cancer treatment cost in India →

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Ovarian cancer treatment is covered by most health insurance policies in India, including Mediclaim, ECHS, CGHS, and corporate group policies. Whether your specific treatment is covered, and how much, depends on your policy and your insurer’s approval.

PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat) and MA-Amrutam cover ovarian cancer treatment at approved hospitals up to defined caps. PARP inhibitor maintenance may need specific pre-authorisation — coverage varies.

Our care team helps with pre-authorisation paperwork, cashless facility at Sterling Hospitals (subject to approval), and reimbursement documentation. Share a copy of your policy when you book and the team will explain what is likely to be covered.

Recovery depends on whether you had early-stage surgery or advanced cancer-removal surgery.

After early-stage (or keyhole) surgery

• Hospital stay: 3–5 days
• Back to gentle daily activity: 2–3 weeks
• Driving: usually after 2–4 weeks
• Back to light work: 4–6 weeks
• Full recovery: 6–8 weeks

After advanced cancer-removal surgery (with or without HIPEC)

• Hospital stay: 10–14 days
• ICU: 3–5 days, with pain control (often epidural)
• Drains and tubes removed step by step
• Back to gentle daily activity: 4–6 weeks
• Full recovery: 3–4 months

Recovery is different for every patient. Age, fitness, extent of surgery, and any complications all matter. What to expect for your case is reviewed before surgery and at every follow-up appointment.

Honest information helps you and your family plan.

Surgery: pain (well-managed with medicines, often epidural for major surgery), slow bowel recovery, small infection risk, tiredness for several weeks.

Chemotherapy (carboplatin–paclitaxel): tiredness peaking after each cycle, hair loss (starts after cycle 2, grows back after treatment ends), low blood counts (monitored weekly), nausea (well-controlled with anti-sickness medicines), tingling in fingers and toes from paclitaxel (usually settles after treatment), higher infection risk between cycles.

Targeted medicines:

• PARP inhibitors (olaparib): tiredness, nausea, low blood counts — usually mild
• Bevacizumab: higher blood pressure, slower wound healing, rare risk of bleeding or clot

Most side effects settle after treatment finishes.

Which type is involved in your case is confirmed by pathology after surgery, and is explained during your consultation.

If you have ovarian cancer or breast cancer, this is one of the first questions families ask. Here is the honest answer.

Most ovarian cancers are not inherited. About 4 out of every 5 ovarian cancer cases happen by chance, with no inherited gene change. In those cases, your daughter’s risk is not very different from any other woman’s.

But about 1 in 5 cases is linked to an inherited gene change — most often BRCA1, BRCA2, or one of the Lynch-syndrome genes. If your cancer is one of these, your daughters, sisters and even sons can carry the same gene change and may benefit from testing.

Genetic testing is suggested when any of these are true:

• You were diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian-tube, or primary peritoneal cancer at any age
• You have had both breast cancer and ovarian cancer
• Multiple close relatives have had ovarian or breast cancer
• A relative had breast cancer before age 50, or any male breast cancer
• Family history of colon, uterine, pancreatic, or prostate cancer (Lynch syndrome)
• Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry

What testing involves: a simple blood or saliva sample. Results take 2–4 weeks. Cost typically ₹15,000–25,000, sometimes covered by insurance.

If a BRCA or Lynch gene change is found in you, your first-degree relatives can be tested for the same change. Those who carry it benefit from closer monitoring (regular scans and blood tests), risk-reducing medication options, or — for women who have finished childbearing — risk-reducing surgery to lower the lifetime risk of ovarian cancer significantly.

Genetic counselling is part of every consultation where this is relevant.

If you are reading this on behalf of your wife, mother, sister, or daughter, this section is for you.

What you can do today:

• Gather her reports — scans, biopsy, blood tests, prior surgery notes. Bring them to her appointment.
• Come with her to the appointment. She will retain more information if a family member is there to listen and take notes.
• Write the questions down the night before. Bring them on paper.
• Contact our care team if she wants you to handle the booking and coordination.

What helps most:

• Listen first. Most patients want to be heard before they want advice.
• Be honest. Pretending everything is fine helps no one. Truth, gently said, builds trust.
• Share the load. Cancer treatment takes months. Split tasks across the family.
• Let her decide. The patient’s body, the patient’s choice. Your job is to help her think clearly.

Two things you should also know:

• Most ovarian cancers are not inherited. Even if your wife or mother has it, your daughter’s risk usually does not change much. See the "Should My Daughters Be Tested?" section for when genetic testing makes sense.
• If you would like a private conversation with the specialist — separately from the patient — that can be arranged during the consultation.

• ESGO certified (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology) — training tested against international standards
• 12+ years of experience in women’s cancer surgery
• Female women’s cancer specialist — important to many patients and families
• One specialist, end-to-end — Dr. Nishtha manages your case from consultation through surgery and follow-up
• Sterling Hospitals, Ahmedabad — equipped for every level of ovarian cancer surgery, from keyhole to HIPEC
• Individualised treatment planning — surgical approach (keyhole, robotic, open, with or without HIPEC) is matched to each patient’s stage, cell type, fitness, and goals
• Out-of-city families welcomed — our care team helps you organise your records before you travel

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Your first appointment usually takes 30 to 45 minutes.

What to bring

• Previous scans (CT, PET, ultrasound) — CD, films, or digital
• Any biopsy or pathology report
• CA-125 blood test result (with trend over time if available)
• List of current medicines and allergies
• A family member or friend (recommended)

What happens during the consultation

• Listening to your story first — your symptoms, your worries, your family history
• Going through your reports with you — you see what the specialist sees on the screen
• Explaining what the scans and reports actually mean for your case
• Pelvic and belly examination as appropriate
• Discussion of what is most likely, what tests are needed, and what treatment options exist
• Family members can join with your permission

What you walk away with

• A clear written next-step list (what tests, what surgery, what timeline)
• A cost estimate range
• Time to think and consult family before deciding
• Care team contact for follow-up administrative questions

You are never asked to decide on surgery during the first appointment. Take your time. Talk to family. Come back when you are ready.

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Dr. Nishtha sees patients at three Ahmedabad hospitals. Availability varies by day.

• Sterling Hospitals — Sindhubhavan Road, Ahmedabad (main HIPEC and advanced surgery hospital)
• KD Hospital — Ahmedabad
• Welcare Speciality Hospital — Ahmedabad

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If your situation matches one of the criteria for specialist review in the "When You Should See A Cancer Specialist" section above, book an appointment with the clinic. If your scan or blood test is being followed by your own gynaecologist and does not yet meet those criteria, continuing with your gynaecologist is usually the right next step.

For families, second opinions on a confirmed diagnosis, or to discuss what records to bring before an appointment — contact our care team.

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You can also call the clinic on +91 76988 00333.