Mary Lee Parker, 73, ovarian cancer, Bedford, with Ursula Matulonis, MD, Chief, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Dana-Farber

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Mary Lee went to her PCP following leg and back pain she was experiencing in June
2017. It was initially chalked up as possibly sciatica, but when the pain persisted, she went to an orthopedic surgeon, and a subsequent MRI revealed cancer. Her doctors said her cancer was stage 4 and recommended she come to Dana-Farber.

Types and length of treatments: She started treatment in 2017, went for chemo every
week until 2019. Her cancer went into remission and then is often the case with her type of disease it returned and had spread. She went on a couple of different clinical trials which have helped keep her cancer at bay. She is feeling great today. She is very happy she ended up at Dana-Farber and is simply “glad to still be here.”

Ovarian cancer isn’t diagnosed until it has progressed to an advanced stage. This is because ovarian cancer symptoms either aren’t apparent in the early stages of the disease or they mimic common stomach and digestive issues that are often mistaken for minor ailments.

Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, is Chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She co-leads the Gynecologic Cancer Program within the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Ovarian Cancer Specialized Program in Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on developing new targeted therapies for gynecologic
malignancies, with a specific interest in ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer.