With Decades of Enduring Howard Stern, Resilient Robin Quivers, 73, Is Fighting Endometrial Cancer & Still Laughing

Stern said, “Let’s be honest, Robin, if I may speak for you, you needed a more flexible schedule.

“Robin’s also busy trying to save her own life with a battle of cancer and and it does require a tremendous amount of her time … like when she’s not on the air, she’s busy literally fighting cancer.”

He continued, “It breaks my f—ing heart that she has to sit there with this because the woman loves to travel, she loves friends, she loves to do things.”

After praising her as a “go-getter,” he described her as a “busy body” who must stay at home and focus on her health.

“God forbid, anything gets into her body that could be a foreign agent,” he explained further. “So she has really lived a lifestyle of perfection, which is now she’s healthy as f—, but she’s still got to fight this goddamn thing, right?”

Despite the news that Quivers must continue treatment, we’re happy to know Stern’s long-running co-host is continuing to work amid treatment.

Choosing to Continue Working During Cancer Treatment

Quivers’ ability to undergo treatment while remaining employed and continuing to show up for work reflects an approach that many SurvivorNet experts recommend for patients who are able to keep working.

“We always encourage people to continue to work if they can,” says Sarah Stapleton, a clinical social worker at Montefiore Medical Center.

“I think it creates a sense of normalcy for patients.”

If you’re able to work, you’ll be busy, and you may not be worrying all the time about how your treatment is going, Stapleton adds. Sometimes, cancer can make you feel isolated and lonely, and being around people for work can alleviate feelings of loneliness.

It would be best to talk with your doctor before continuing to work during treatment. Ask your physician what you can and cannot do so you don’t disrupt ongoing treatment.

Remember, sometimes cancer treatment can cause fatigue, leaving you unable to fulfill your duties as you once could.

Fortunately, some on-the-job accommodations can make working during cancer treatment much easier.

WATCH: Choosing to Work During Cancer Treatment

The Rehabilitation Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act protects people with job problems related to cancer. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may also benefit others. This law allows many people with serious illnesses to take unpaid leave to get medical care or manage their symptoms.

Your human resources department should be able to share with you your options.

In some situations, employers must accommodate a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the employer can show it would be an undue hardship to do so. This could mean making changes to work schedules, equipment, or policies.

Laurie Ostacher, a behavioral health clinician at Stanford Health Care, recommends that cancer patients discuss accommodations they may need upon returning to work with their employers.

“Patients need to let their employer know [they’re] going to need some flexibility… Because there are going to be days when you’re not as energetic or feeling as well as other days,” Ostacher explained.

Robin Quivers’ Cancer Journey

Robin Quivers, a Baltimore native who is best known as Howard Stern’s co-host on his popular radio show, was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2012, which begins when cancerous cells form in the tissues of the endometrium or lining of the uterus. Symptoms typically associated with this type of cancer include vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain.

After a woman has been diagnosed with endometrial cancer, her doctor will stage the cancer based on its spread within the body. A pelvic exam and imaging tests help your doctor learn if the cancer has spread or metastasized.

Her symptoms began after she started having trouble urinating and feeling more fatigued. She went to the doctor for answers, and her CT scans, MRIs, and biopsies remained inconclusive. Quivers described the period of uncertainty as “scary” and “bizarre.”

Further tests finally found the culprit, a grapefruit-size mass on “every organ in her pelvic area.”

Following the discovery, a hysterectomy was ordered, and the popular radio host underwent the procedure.

A hysterectomy is a procedure that removes part or all of the uterus (or womb), often along with the cervix, according to the National Cancer Institute. Women who receive a diagnosis of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer may have their cancer treated with a hysterectomy.

Following the procedure, Quivers began chemotherapy and radiation treatments that spanned 15 months.

“When you’re in and out of treatment, you’re always recovering and trying to get back to where you were,” Quivers said.

After undergoing intensive treatment, Quivers reached remission, which lasted for more than three years. Then, in late 2016, she experienced a relapse and needed additional treatment after the cancer returned and metastasized to her lymph nodes. After getting her cancer under control, she undergoes immunotherapy infusions periodically.

The immune system uses white blood cells to attack abnormal or foreign cells in the body. Cancerous cells can prevent the immune system from doing its job and attacking foreign cells. Cancer produces certain proteins that protect the tumor from white blood cells. As a result, the body does not recognize the tumor as abnormal. However, immunotherapy treatments stop this from happening and ensure that the white blood cells recognize the cancer cell properly and attack it.

WATCH: New Immunotherapy Approvals Provide Hope for Women With Advanced Endometrial Cancer: What to Know

Helping You Understand Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer begins when cancerous cells form in the tissues of the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus.

After a woman has been diagnosed with endometrial cancer, her doctor will stage the cancer based on its spread within the body. A pelvic exam and imaging tests help your doctor learn if the cancer has spread or metastasized.

WATCH: Different Types of Endometrial Cancer

Some common risk factors for endometrial cancer include:

• Obesity
• Taking estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy after menopause
• Having never given birth or started menstruation at an early age
• Having a family history of endometrial cancer

Common symptoms of endometrial cancer may include:

• Pelvic pain: Some women may experience pain or discomfort in the pelvic area.
• Pain during intercourse: This symptom is less common but can occur in some cases.
• Unusual vaginal discharge: Watery or blood-tinged discharge may be a sign of endometrial cancer.
• Weight loss: Unexplained weight loss can sometimes be associated with cancer.
• Urinary problems: Difficulty or pain when urinating.

Endometrial Cancer Treatment Options

Treatment for endometrial cancer includes surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. Surgery is the most common treatment method.

“There are a lot of new exciting treatments for advanced endometrial cancer that we’ve just discovered over the last couple of years,” Dr. Dana Chase, gynecologic oncologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, says.

“So even if you’re diagnosed with an advanced stage, ask your treating doctor what the latest treatments are, or even potentially, is there a clinical trial I can participate in for my endometrial cancer? … There’s a lot of research on new treatments for endometrial cancer, which is very exciting,” Dr. Chase continued.

The most common procedure is a hysterectomy, where the surgeon removes the uterus. They often also remove both ovaries and fallopian tubes in bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This helps lower the risk of the cancer spreading or coming back.

WATCH: What to Know About Endometrial Cancer-Related Surgery

“Doctors usually treat early-stage endometrial cancer with surgery as the main approach,” explains Dr. B.J. Rimel, a gynecologic oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “During the surgery, doctors may also perform staging to see how far the cancer has spread. This involves taking out and examining nearby lymph nodes and tissues.”

Chemotherapy and radiation are options, particularly when the cancer is in more advanced stages.

Treating endometrial cancer with hormone therapy involves removing hormones or blocking their ability to help cancer cells grow. Targeted therapy treatment uses drugs designed to target specific cancer cells.

“Hormonal therapy commonly works because most endometrial cancers are estrogen receptor-positive,” Dr. Michael Toboni, an assistant professor in the division of gynecologic oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, tells SurvivorNet.

“So if you give progesterone, it can counteract the estrogen feeding the cancer. This is commonly given with multiple anti-estrogen medications or an anti-estrogen medication in combination with another medication that inhibits a common pathway in endometrial cancer.”

Each treatment method can have side effects, and the impact on the body may vary depending on the type of treatment. If you are undergoing treatment for endometrial cancer, discussing potential side effects with your doctor and strategies to minimize their impact is crucial.

Additional Endometrial Cancer Treatment Options

In recent years, endometrial cancer patients have seen an increasing number of treatment options emerge to make battling the disease more manageable.

WATCH: New Combination Therapy for Advanced Endometrial Cancer Patients

The impact of new combination therapies on advanced endometrial cancer – a type of cancer that affects the lining of the uterus – is a significant advance for treating the disease. Patients are living longer, healthier lives.

Durvalumab (brand name IMFINZI) is an immunotherapy drug that’s often used alongside chemotherapy.

Olaparib (brand name LYNPARZA) is a PARP inhibitor, a type of drug that helps treat some cancers by blocking an enzyme called PARP that helps repair damaged DNA in cells. Olaparib destroys cancer cells, especially cells that already have trouble repairing their DNA. Sometimes, it’s used as an add-on to durvalumab.

“For a long time, patients with early-stage endometrial cancer generally do very well with a combination of surgery, maybe some radiotherapy,” says Dr. Shannon Westin, a professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

“However, there’s a population of patients who are diagnosed at a later stage, stage three or four, or who have their cancer come back after initial therapy. And those patients have had a really hard time,” she adds.

According to Westin, the latest treatments combine immunotherapy with standard chemotherapy plus a drug that prevents cancer cells from fixing their own DNA.

The results are encouraging, especially for patients who have late-stage endometrial cancer or whose disease has come back.

Some known side effects of durvalumab and Olaparib include:

Durvalumab can cause inflammation in various parts of the body, which can lead to:

• Skin rashes
• Diarrhea
• Liver inflammation

Olaparib may lead to side effects such as:

• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Blood-related issues such as anemia
• Increased risk of developing certain other cancers due to the DNA repair inhibition.

Another U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved combination therapy for advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer to be used with traditional chemotherapy is dostarlimab-gxly (brand name Jemperli). It is an immune checkpoint inhibitor, a type of immunotherapy that helps reinvigorate the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

WATCH: Treatment for Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer

Dostarlimab-gxly was already approved for metastatic and recurrent endometrial cancer in cases where chemotherapy did not work. Now, dostarlimab-gxly is approved as part of the first treatment for patients who have a specific set of genetic mutations called mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). These genetic factors are associated with a much greater response to the checkpoint inhibitor class of drugs.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you have been diagnosed with endometrial cancer, you may want to ask your doctor a few questions to ensure you are well informed about your diagnosis and the treatment journey that awaits.

• What stage is my endometrial cancer?
• What are the treatment options available for my specific type and stage of endometrial cancer?
• What are the potential side effects of each treatment option, and how can they be managed?
• What is the expected prognosis for my condition?
• Are there any clinical trials or experimental treatments that I may be eligible for?
• How often will I need follow-up appointments and tests to monitor my condition?
• Are there any lifestyle changes or dietary recommendations that can help improve my prognosis or manage side effects?
• What support services are available to help me cope with the emotional and practical aspects of living with endometrial cancer?

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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