‘Howard Stern Show’ Sidekick Robin Quivers Is 74, Cancer Free, & Feeling Like A ‘Brand-New Person’ After 14-Year Battle With Endometrial Cancer

The beloved longtime “Howard Stern Show” co-host battled endometrial cancer, a disease that begins when cancerous cells form in the tissues of the endometrium or lining of the uterus, for 14 years.

Endometrial Cancer: Overview 

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Reflecting on how she felt after receiving the good news, Quivers said, “I was like a person who’s won the lottery and can’t believe their eyes when they’re seeing all the numbers.”

Stern, who characterized Quivers’ “cancer-free” disclosure as “honestly the best news ever,” added, “It’s an unbelievable miracle.

“I love you, and I’m so happy for you.”

RELATED: Trial Shows Immuno-Chemotherapy Combo Keeps Advanced Endometrial Cancer From Progressing For Years

After she said the words “I’m cancer-free,” Stern told fans, “What do you think of that? 14 years ago, when Robin was diagnosed, she took charge of her health. She started to do all the right things. She never deviated.”

Robin Quivers’ Journey With Endometrial Cancer

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.

It’s important to note that this type of cancer begins when cancerous cells form in the tissues of the endometrium or lining of the uterus. Additionally, if 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.

Quivers’ 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

She announced she was “cancer-free” in June 2026.

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.

“As with disease in general, whether it be diabetes or endometrial cancer or even dementia, it’s important to find the disease at an early stage because potentially with treatment you can stop the disease from progressing,” Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist and associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, previously told SurvivorNet.

Dr. Jennifer Mueller, a gynecologic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explains how surgery can help determine treatment path

The symptoms of endometrial cancer may vary from person to person, but the most common one is unusual vaginal bleeding.

Many symptoms of endometrial cancer can also be linked to other health issues, making them difficult to recognize as signs of the disease. That’s why it’s important to talk with a doctor about any unusual or persistent changes in your health.

Here are some important facts to know about symptoms:

• More than 90% of women with endometrial cancer (also sometimes called uterine cancer) experience abnormal vaginal bleeding.
• If you are still having periods, abnormal bleeding might mean bleeding between periods or having very heavy periods.
• If you have gone through menopause and stopped having periods, any amount of vaginal bleeding is considered unusual. This is even more important if you are not taking hormone therapy for menopause symptoms like hot flashes or vaginal dryness.
• It’s normal for those taking hormone therapy for menopause to experience some bleeding in the first few months of treatment. But, if you are on hormone therapy and notice any bleeding, it’s still something you should talk to your doctor about.

“So it’s very, very important to spread the word that if you have irregular bleeding, even a pink discharge, it doesn’t have to be bright red blood, even a pink discharge, don’t hesitate or don’t be afraid to get that checked out,” Dr. Chase stresses.

Dr. Dana Chase explains what may be considered irregular bleeding

Screening For Endometrial Cancer

Doctors don’t recommend endometrial cancer screening for most women. However, there are some very important exceptions, including:

• Any woman who has experienced any unusual bleeding or other significant symptoms that could be related to a diagnosis
• Women with Lynch Syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder, that increases the risk of several cancers
• Women with a history of certain hormone-related conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may need screening
• Women who have undergone hormone replacement therapy without progesterone.

“We don’t yet have a screening test for endometrial cancer,” Dr. Chase says.

“The one patient that you might be able to screen for endometrial cancer with endometrial biopsies is a patient that has known Lynch syndrome. So if you are known to have Lynch syndrome like you’ve been tested for it and you have Lynch syndrome, which is that hereditary cancer syndrome that is associated with endometrial cancer, you could be eligible for this screening protocol, which I would discuss with your doctor.”

Dr. Chase also recommends that women with PCOS pay special attention to their risk.

“PCOS is a condition that involves irregular menses — they don’t ovulate every month. So in order to have regular periods, you have to ovulate every month. And if you don’t ovulate, you might not have a period for several months, or you might have two periods within three weeks. Anovulatory bleeding is a risk factor for endometrial cancer, and it’s one of the characteristics of a patient that has PCOS,” she explains.

However, some doctors don’t believe additional screening for PCOS is necessary. Be sure to discuss this with your doctor to understand what’s right for your particular situation.

Dr. Chase also highlights the heightened risk of endometrial cancer for women who are being treated with a drug called Tamoxifen for breast cancer.

“Tamoxifen is a drug that’s frequently used in certain breast cancer patients to try to prevent their cancer from coming back,” Dr. Chase says. “It can stimulate the endometrial cells to proliferate and if they proliferate uncontrollably, they can turn into endometrial cancer.”

Taking the drug doesn’t mean you should go in for more frequent exams or biopsies, she clarifies, but if you have irregular bleeding on Tamoxifen, it should be brought to the attention of your doctor immediately.

Additionally, if you have a metabolic condition such as obesity, type 2 diabetes. or metabolic syndrome, it’s worth having a discussion with your doctor to see if endometrial cancer screening makes sense for you. And of course, make an appointment with a health care professional if you experience any symptoms that worry you.

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 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?

If you have a cancer screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.

WATCH: How One Cancer Survivor and Her Sister Used “My Health Questions” to Navigate Care

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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