For many who have lost a spouse to cancer, living through quarantine has intensified the feeling of isolation. But Steve Buscemi, who lost this wife, Jo Andres, to ovarian cancer less than 18 months ago, tells GQ in a recent interview, “the fact that everybody’s going through it doesn’t feel as isolating. It feels like it’s something that we’re doing together."
Read MoreAndres approached the end of her life in peace, he reveals. “I hope I could be as present as Jo was," he said. "She led the way. She was surrounded by friends and family. She really faced it. I really don’t think she was afraid of dying. I think it was just a whole series of 'Oh, I don’t get to do this anymore.'" Buscemi told the New York Times the cause of death was a condition known as encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis, which causes intestinal blockage.
He remains sensitive to the challenges of women — and their partners — who face recurrent ovarian cancer. "People who are going through that, it’s painful,” he says, “there’s just no way around it."
Ovarian Cancer: Diagnosis And Treatment
When it's detected early enough, ovarian cancer has a better than 90% cure rate. But it’s called “the cancer that whispers” because women often do not recognize its earliest symptoms, which include abdominal bloating, frequent urination, and loss of appetite due to feeling of fullness. Only 20% of cases are caught early on.
With ovarian cancer, the standard of care is a "very, very effective" chemotherapy. When ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed, according to Dr. Chase, they are usually given chemotherapy, which puts about 80% of patients into remission.
PARP Inhibitors: The Advantages
For a growing number of women battling ovarian cancer, the treatment options have now expanded to include a new class of drug called PARP inhibitors. These drugs work by targeting the DNAthe genetic materialof cancer cells.
Once offered primarily to women with ovarian cancer whose genetic profile included the BRCA gene mutation, these are now available to a wider range of women battling the disease. The drugs can be given both in early and later phases of cancer treatment.
"PARP inhibitors have revolutionized our treatment of ovarian cancer," says gynecologic oncologist Dr. Saketh Guntupalli at the University of Colorado in Denver.
All three types of PARP inhibitor drugs are administered orally. PARP inhibitor side effects can be challenging, and women taking the medication must be closely watched for signs of toxicity, while managing common reactions which can range from gastrointestinal discomfort to anemia and fatigue.
RELATED: Why Every Woman Diagnosed With Ovarian Cancer Should Get Genetic Testing
Whether you should consider a PARP Inhibitor will likely be determined by a number of factors: the specific genetic make-up of your cancer, your disease stage, whether your cancer had a positive response to platinum-based chemotherapy — the standard for ovarian cancer — and your ability to tolerate the drug's side effects. "PARP inhibitors have revolutionized our treatment of ovarian cancer," says Dr. Saketh Guntupalli, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Colorado in Denver.
RELATED: How to Manage The Side Effects of PARP Inhibitors Practical Guidance
Even though PARP Inhibitors are now approved for almost all ovarian cancer patients, their effect is far greater in patients who have BRCA genetic mutations and the genetic factor called Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD), which weakens the ability of ovarian cancer cells to repair themselves.
But PARP inhibitors are now being offered after initial surgery and chemotherapy. And, as long as the side-effects are well tolerated, patients may continue them for months, or even years, to suppress the recurrence of the disease.
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