Eagles Star DeVonta Smith, 27, and His Fiancée Delivers Surprise Gift to Cancer Patient, Turning a Hard Chemo Day Into a Hopeful One

Ovarian cancer often begins in the fallopian tubes, where abnormal cells can travel to the ovaries and form tumors. It’s frequently called “the cancer that whispers” because symptoms are vague or nonexistent until the disease is already advanced. Even early signs can be difficult to recognize.

WATCH: Can women with stage 4 ovarian cancer be treated with surgery? 

In stage 4 ovarian cancer, the disease has spread beyond the abdominal cavity to distant organs. SurvivorNet experts note that tumors may appear inside the liver or spleen, in or around the lungs, in other organs outside the abdomen and pelvis, and in some cases, even in the bones.

Treatment for stage 4 ovarian cancer often mirrors the approach used for stage 3. Many patients undergo surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, followed by chemotherapy and, in some cases, the targeted therapy Avastin. Another common strategy is to begin with chemotherapy first; if the tumors shrink, surgery may follow, with additional chemotherapy afterward.

Since ovarian cancer is particularly responsive to chemotherapy, most gynecologic oncologists will almost always build chemo into a woman’s treatment regimen at some point or multiple points during her course of care.

For ovarian cancer, the most common chemo drug is a platinum-based agent, such as carboplatin, cisplatin, or oxaliplatin.

“Platinum seems to be by far the most effective agent ever discovered to kill ovarian cancer cells,” says Dr. Beth Karlan, gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Medical Center.

WATCH: Understanding Ovarian Cancer

“We don’t have a good screening method” for ovarian cancer, Dr. Jose Alejandro Rauh-Hain, a gynecological oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.

Dr. Jose Alejandro Rauh-Hain emphasizes that anyone experiencing symptoms should see their doctor promptly, as there may be a chance to detect ovarian cancer earlier. He notes that signs such as bloating, abdominal pain, and changes in bowel habits often resemble common gastrointestinal issues, which is why speaking up matters. “It’s crucial that patients feel comfortable asking their physicians questions,” he adds.

WATCH: The Symptoms and Warning Signs of Ovarian Cancer

“There are different kinds of ovarian cancer that affect women at different stages of life. The most common type of ovarian cancer, however, typically occurs around the time of the menopause,” Dr. Karlan explained further.

Dr. Karlan explains to SurvivorNet that ovarian cancer is an umbrella term for several types of tumors that originate in the ovaries, the reproductive organs responsible for producing estrogen and storing a woman’s eggs. While the ovaries contain many different kinds of cells, any of them can become cancerous.

She notes that ovarian cancer isn’t a single disease — different types can appear at different stages of a woman’s life. However, the most common form typically develops around the time of menopause.

WATCH: Spotting Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

According to SurvivorNet experts, symptoms may include:

• Bloating or a persistent feeling of fullness
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Changes in bowel habits

Hoping to brighten her mother’s day, Theresa decided to take a chance and send a direct message to Smith’s fiancée on Instagram.

“I asked if I could send her a jersey for him to sign. Instead, she drove to the hospital herself and hand-delivered my mom a signed jersey with a card,” Schmus said.

That simple act transformed an otherwise grueling chemo session into a moment the family will never forget.

“My mom has never had a jersey and has never been able to make it to a game in her life. To say she was shocked is an understatement,” Schmus added.

Mya and DeVonta, who are raising two beautiful children, demonstrated a quiet but deeply meaningful gesture that served as a reminder that even on the hardest days, patients are surrounded by supporters — some they know, and some they don’t.

TikTok users quickly flooded the comments with love.

“I’m sobbing. DeVonta Smith is so kind, and so is his fiancée. This makes me so happy,” one user, Mikayla, wrote.

“Excuse me, she drove over there personally in two hours? I’m sobbing,” another user, Ryann, added.

Several Philadelphia-area commenters recognized Theresa’s mom as their former English teacher, making the moment even more touching.

“Awww, Mrs. Schmus was the best English teacher! So caring and kind,” one user shared.

WATCH: How your ovarian cancer responds to certain types of chemotherapies guides your future treatments.

The standard of care for ovarian cancer patients is chemotherapy, which helps many patients reach remission.

With recurrence a strong possibility for this disease, especially in the later stages of ovarian cancer, certain drug treatments to deal with it are giving many women hope.

Maintenance therapy is continued treatment after the patient finishes their initial treatment. After an ovarian cancer patient completes a round of treatments — such as surgery and chemotherapy — her doctor may recommend some form of maintenance therapy to try and delay possible recurrence. Maintenance therapy can involve taking an oral pill called a PARP inhibitor every day after chemotherapy and can keep cancer in remission longer.

Genetic testing helps doctors determine the best maintenance therapy.

Genetic Testing and Ovarian Cancer

Genetic testing—analyzing a patient’s DNA or biopsy tissue—can reveal critical insights about cancer: how it forms, how it behaves, and how best to treat it.

“There are certain cancer-causing genes that can be passed down from generation to generation,” explains Dr. Derrick Haslem, the director of medical oncology at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.

As researchers uncover more about these inherited mutations, they’re not only pinpointing who might be most at risk—they’re also refining how cancers are detected and treated.

When it comes to ovarian cancer, this information is especially vital.

WATCH: What genetic testing reveals about your cancer?

“There are a lot of mutations that put people at a higher risk for ovarian cancer,” says Dr. Haslem. That’s why your medical team asks about your family history—because genetic red flags can run in families. “If you have a family history of ovarian cancer or breast cancer, that’s a really important thing to bring up with your healthcare provider.”

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are among the most common genetic links to ovarian cancer. Another factor, homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), can occur in women with BRCA mutations and further disrupts the cells’ ability to repair their DNA.

If you do have a strong family history, your doctor may recommend testing for BRCA mutations or other inherited syndromes like Lynch syndrome, which can also increase risk for ovarian, colorectal, and breast cancers.

Sometimes, testing positive for a high-risk mutation may lead to conversations about preventive steps. “If you were tested and you had that gene, then somebody might talk to you about prophylactic surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes,” says Dr. Haslem. This kind of preventive surgery can significantly reduce future cancer risk in those genetically predisposed.

Beyond risk assessment, genetic findings also guide treatment. “Certain chemotherapies and targeted therapies are much more effective in those types of cases,” Dr. Haslem adds. For example, PARP inhibitors—designed to block DNA repair in cancer cells—have shown strong results in patients with BRCA mutations and HRD.

Ultimately, genetic testing isn’t just about knowing your risk—it’s a tool that helps tailor treatment and potentially saves lives.

Ovarian Cancer Recurrence and Treatments to Help

Ovarian cancer recurrence happens in “almost 25 percent of cases with early-stage diseases and in more than 80 percent with more advanced stages,” according to research published in the Gland Surgery medical journal. With recurrence a strong possibility for this disease, especially in the later stages of ovarian cancer, certain drug treatments to deal with it are giving many women hope.

Ovarian cancer is sub-categorized into two groups.

• Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer: Your cancer does not return for more than six months after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapies, like carboplatin and cisplatin.
• Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer: Your cancer returns within six months of treatment with platinum-based chemotherapies, like carboplatin and cisplatin.

“The mechanism that causes platinum resistance will cause someone to be resistant to other chemotherapies, as well. That’s why we’re looking for what we call targeted therapies – precision medicine,” Dr. Noelle Cloven from Texas Oncology-Fort Worth Cancer Center explained.

RELATED: Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Treatment: Is Your Disease “Platinum-Sensitive”?

Targeted therapies or precision medicine specifically target the proteins controlling cancer cells’ growth, division, and spread.

Maintenance Therapy for Ovarian Cancer

Maintenance therapy plays a critical role in helping ovarian cancer patients stay in remission after completing their initial treatment, which often includes surgery and chemotherapy.

“Maintenance therapy is continued treatment after the patient finishes their initial treatment,” explains Dr. Alpa Nick, a gynecologic oncologist with Tennessee Oncology in Nashville.

WATCH: PARP inhibitors are now options as part of ovarian cancer treatment for a growing number of women.

One common form of maintenance therapy is a daily oral medication known as a PARP inhibitor, which works by preventing cancer cells from repairing their DNA.

“The biggest question is: How do you choose between bevacizumab (brand name, Avastin) or a PARP inhibitor for maintenance therapy?” Dr. Nick says.

Both are effective options, but they take very different approaches. While PARP inhibitors target cancer cells’ internal repair systems, Avastin works externally by blocking new blood vessel growth, essentially starving tumors of the needed nourishment.

Genetic testing is key to determining which treatment is most effective. “When patients have their surgery, we can test their tumor to decide if their tumor has a homologous recombination deficiency (HRD),” says Dr. Nick. If HRD is present, patients are more likely to benefit from PARP inhibitors.

Some women may be candidates for a combination approach. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Avastin in combination with olaparib (brand name Lynparza) for women with HRD-positive tumors who respond to platinum-based chemotherapy.

This pairing increased progression-free survival in clinical trials from 17 to 37 months. “A patient really has to make a decision upfront, or near the beginning of their treatment, that they want bevacizumab maintenance treatment because they’ll have it with their primary chemotherapy,” adds Dr. Nick.

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines now recommend that PARP inhibitors be offered to women newly diagnosed with stage III or IV ovarian cancer, regardless of their genetic status, if they’ve responded well to chemotherapy.

Meanwhile, another breakthrough therapy is offering new hope for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer: Elahere (mirvetuximab). This targeted treatment is designed for women who test positive for high levels of folate receptor-alpha (FRα), a molecular marker found on some ovarian cancer cells.

“What that means is that the antibody part of the drug conjugate binds to the folate receptor on the tumor cells, and then that gets taken up into the tumor cell,” says Dr. Lyons.

“And then the drug that is conjugated with is the part that actually kills the tumor cells, by affecting the tumor cells’ ability to divide.” Often described as “biological missiles,” these antibody-drug conjugates are ushering in a new age of precision therapy.

Ovarian Cancer Recurrence

When cancer returns, it is referred to as recurrence. It often occurs because some cancer cells are left behind after treatment. Those cells grow over time and are eventually detected in follow-up scans received by patients in remission.

Ovarian cancer patients faced with a recurrence will likely need to restart chemotherapy or consider another surgical procedure.

WATCH: Ovarian cancer recurrence.

The type of treatment recommended for recurrence can depend on several factors:

• The period within which the cancer recurred
• The kind of chemotherapy the woman underwent in the past
• Side effects that came as a result of past treatments
• The length of time between the last treatment the woman underwent and the recurrence
• The specific mutations and molecular features of your cancer

If a woman’s time between remission and recurrence is more than six months, then the ovarian cancer is categorized as “platinum-sensitive” (that is, responsive to a platinum-based chemotherapy treatment), and that patient will be treated with chemotherapy and another platinum-based drug.

If the recurrence time happens less than six months into remission, the ovarian cancer is classified as “platinum-resistant.” At that point, women are usually treated with another type of chemotherapy and encouraged to enter a clinical trial. Alternatively, women might be platinum-refractory, which refers to a disease that grows while the patient is on chemotherapy and has a particularly poor prognosis.

Determining the probability that a woman’s cancer will recur depends on the stage at which they were initially diagnosed. According to most data:

• Women with stage 1 ovarian cancer have a 10 percent chance of recurrence.
• Women in stage 2 have a 30 percent chance of recurrence.
• Women in stage 3 have a 70 to 90 percent chance of recurrence.
• Women in stage 4 have a 90 to 95 percent chance of recurrence.

WATCH: Clinical trials can be life-saving.

Clinical trials are an option for women facing ovarian cancer with a high probability of recurrence. If you fall into this category, ask your doctor about possible clinical trial eligibility. Clinical trials help doctors better understand cancer and discover more effective treatment methods. They also allow patients to try a treatment before it’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which can potentially be life-changing.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and need guidance to further educate yourself on the disease and treatment, consider these questions for your doctor.

• What type of ovarian cancer do I have?
• What stage is my cancer in?
• Do you recommend I get genetic testing for any gene mutations, such as the BRCA gene mutation?
• What initial treatment options do you recommend?
• What are the possible side effects of the recommended treatment, and how can they be coped with?
• Will insurance help cover my recommended treatment?

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