After Surgery

After a staging operation, the hospital stay is three to five days if there are no complications, and recovery can last approximately six to eight weeks. When you return home, your oncology nurse will advise you not to lift anything heavy and to avoid major housework. You should also avoid sexual intercourse, douching or using tampons until your physician or nurse tells you that you have healed sufficiently. Gradually, your activity level will increase as you continue to heal. Some postsurgical effects may include vaginal bleeding, much like a period, for the first week after surgery. After that, you may have spotting or discharge for several weeks. Many women experience abdominal pain that is usually related to simple gas and is entirely normal. However, if you have a fever greater than 100.4 degrees, increasing amounts of abdominal pain, vaginal discharge and/or diarrhea or vomiting, you should call your physician immediately.

Pain Control
While recovering from abdominal surgery in the hospital, you will be given a Patient Controlled Analgesia, or PCA, pump, that allows you to control the amount of pain medication according to your needs. A prescription for pain medication will be given to you before you are discharged from the hospital so you can have pain relief at home. After surgery for cervical and endometrial cancer, radiation therapy may be recommended. Within two to four weeks after surgery, your gynecologic surgeon will set up an appointment for you with a radiation oncologist. Radiation therapy is not used as frequently for ovarian cancer.