Announcement

Women's Cancer Center Celebrates Its Survivors

The Center has opened a new facility to treat women with cancer at Community Hospital of Los Gatos.

Los Gatos, California. -- Three Bay Area women diagnosed with ovarian cancer chose three ways to deal with the emotional turmoil. But they agree there's only one place to treat the disease -- the Women's Cancer Center, which has just opened a new branch at Community Hospital of Los Gatos.

East Bay resident Kathleen Perez says she's lucky to live here. It's not for the reasons most people list -- the climate, the beaches, and the high-tech economy. It's her health -- and maybe her life -- that are in her thoughts these days. If she didn't live in the Bay Area, with access to excellent doctors and the Women's Cancer Center, Perez believes her life might have ended by now. The same feeling is woven through the experiences of other women treated at the Center, which held a private event on July 12 to celebrate its cancer survivors.

"Two years ago I was diagnosed with a really aggressive form of ovarian cancer," Perez explains. It was the same disease that took the life of comedian Gilda Radner. "At first, my gynecologist thought my abdominal symptoms were related to my recent pregnancy."

Her gynecologist, Dr. Willard Wyman, did not initially consider the remote possibility of cancer, as Perez did not fit the typical profile. In her early thirties, she was young, with no family history of the disease. When Wyman ordered a sonogram, he fully expected to find a benign condition, such as a cyst. When a solid ovarian mass was revealed, surgery was scheduled and a frozen section removed for analysis. The cyst, roughly the size of a grapefruit, contained cancer. Dr. Wyman performed a total hysterectomy, and referred Perez to the Women's Cancer Center.

The Center, the largest gynecologic and surgical oncology group in Northern California, is comprised of specialists in the treatment of female genital tract malignancies and breast cancers. They also treat most solid organ tumors.

Dr. Samuel Ballon, one of the Center's oncologists, reports that the facility is a full member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), a multi-disciplinary group funded by the National Cancer Institute. So it can prescribe investigational drugs not available outside of a research setting for women who wish to participate in a GOG study.

"We also have helped to pioneer the use of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery for treating women with gynecologic cancers," added Dr. Ballon. "The Women's Cancer Center is one of only seven major institutions in the country to study this approach. We also have a comprehensive screening program for gynecologic and breast malignancies which can be used by family members of our patients. The program includes using tumor markers such as the CA-125 in combination with vaginal ultrasonograph, mammography, and comprehensive physical examinations."

As part of a normal follow-up procedure, Perez underwent a "second look," where Dr. Nicola Spirtos, another specialist at the Center, used a laparoscope (a flexible fiberoptic tube) to perform a visual post-op inspection of her abdominal cavity.

Throughout her emotional ordeal, Perez took hold of her fate and learned as much as she could. The Internet became her research tool, she foraged through medical articles and compared notes with other cancer patients. As she researched, she realized how fortunate she was to live in an area where health care is so advanced.

"The Women's Cancer Center is an incredible resource," she says. "The doctors are aggressive, open-minded and very willing to work as a team with other specialists. That's a benefit for everyone."

Now, more than two years after her frightening diagnosis, Perez is still cancer-free. She returns to the Center every few months for check ups.

Roberta deKay, diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1990, is still fighting her illness while refusing to give in to depression or anger. Those moments have surfaced, of course, but deKay uses them as inspiration for her poems, including "Even Agony," "Regarding the Question," "Something Holy," or "My Irish Father Blessed the Morning."

Her gynecologist, Dr. Carol Cook, thought deKay's abdominal pain was symptomatic of a bladder infection. But an ultrasound showed a visible mass on her ovary. Within an hour, she was in the office of Dr. Ballon at the Women's Cancer Center. He ordered immediate surgery.

"I was so happy to have him working on my case," deKay exclaimed. "His attitude was so positive that I felt like I'd been touched by a true healer. We made an instant connection, like we were friends."

Surgery was followed by six months of intensive chemotherapy and then by "second look" surgery. "I thought I'd never survive the chemo, but I've learned that the human body can endure a lot," deKay said. "The second surgery included more than 100 biopsies, which all came back clean. Dr. Cook said they were so happy they nearly danced out of the operating room."

All though this, deKay put her best efforts into continuing her work in graduate school, where she was completing her Master's degree in Psychology. For 18 months she was in remission.

Returning to work at a counseling center, deKay said she had a second chance at life. But the very day when she was hanging up her new diploma on the wall, she felt a pain in her abdomen. "This is a bad movie," she thought, trying hard to believe it was nothing more than an intestinal virus. It wasn't.

More surgery followed, and though she says her blood scores are in the normal range, deKay is on continual chemotherapy. It has not been easy, but she believes her experience at the Women's Cancer Center helped to make the ordeal more bearable.

"My relationship with Dr. Ballon put things into perspective for me." she insisted. "I could talk to him. He was always making time for me. Even on those days when my brain wouldn't function clearly, I would leave his office feeling psychologically better. He always gives me hope."

Imploring other women not to be afraid, deKay said they should squarely face their female-related cancers because denial and fear won't make reality go away. "This is just part of the journey," she continued. "I do have my negative feelings, but I've learned how to work with reality and to get the fear out in front of me. When I run from it, I'm exhausted."

For Shelly Casey of Los Altos, too much knowledge was an overwhelming thing, so she chose to learn as little as necessary about her own ovarian cancer. "After I found that there was such a low survival rate, I didn't want to know anymore," she said. "I worried that the numbers would affect my attitude, and I was already depressed enough. Most women don't survive beyond one or two years."

She was diagnosed in 1989, the year Radner died, which made her fears escalate. To make matters worse, the cancer had already spread through her abdomen, although she had had no symptoms. Dr. Spirtos called for surgery, during which he removed all but a few cancer sites attached to delicate organs.

Six months of aggressive chemotherapy left Casey depleted both physically and emotionally. When her second look surgery found some remaining cancer, Dr. Spirtos ordered three months of full-body radiation, which was easier for her to tolerate. Throughout it all, Case still would not read about her disease or its treatment. Instead, her husband, Richard, took on the task because he was already working in that field. As CEO of Scios, a biotech field, his work took on a more personal angle as he used his knowledge to bolster her mood while not revealing the distressing parts.

"Here's how I dealt with it," she continued. "I decided to live each day like it was my last one. We bought a dream house, and we took trips with the kids, who were 5 and 11 when I was diagnosed. We went to Paris a couple of times. We didn't delay any gratification; we bought, saw, and did whatever I wanted."

She also started individual journals for her children, recording all the minutiae they would one day want to know -- what they were like as children, what her own childhood was like, what toys they liked to play with, what the neighbors thought about them, and other vignettes. "It's something that people don't think to do unless they're in a life-threatening situation," she said.

Only now is Casey reflecting on her deeper emotions. Eight years after her diagnosis, she has passed the point where medical professionals consider her to be cured. But she still refuses to think that way. "I don't want to jinx it," she said with understandable caution. However, she does admit that life is returning to normal. "My husband and I wouldn't argue while I was sick," she explained. "It just seemed pointless, you know? And then one day, after so many years without a disagreement, we had one of those picky little arguments. That's when I knew he believed I was cured."

Casey says she, too, owes her life to Dr. Spirtos and the Women's Cancer Center. "The key to survival is to have a really great cancer surgeon," she added. "He made all the right decisions, which is why I'm here today. But beyond the technical stuff, he also picked up my spirits, and that was important, too. Even if you're like me and can't face all the details, you still need the right medical team to get you through it.

As part of the opening celebration for the Women's Cancer Center at Community Hospital of Los Gatos, deKay read her poems of courage and insight. A nurse facilitated support group, "Living with Gynecological Cancer," meets every other Monday evening at the hospital. Call 408 866-4098 for details.