In the News - 2010
Yelp EventsOvarian cancer walk takes flight from Stone Zoo - Stonehamn, MA
When 50-year-old Marie Spinale visited her doctor seeking relief from painful abdominal bloating four years ago, she expected a benign verdict: irritable bowel syndrome, perhaps, or something equally treatable.What she got, instead, was a diagnosis of stage III ovarian cancer – the same disease that had claimed her mother in 2001 – and one year ago, despite a lifetime of healthy eating, exercise and then aggressive radiation and chemotherapy, it claimed Marie’s life, too.
That’s why her family plans to honor her memory with a five-mile fundraising walk to benefit cancer research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center this Saturday in Stoneham. Marie, a Medford resident, founded the Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer (SAOC) Walk before her death in August 2009.
“This year’s walk is an especially important one. Not only are we raising money for research and awareness, but we continue to walk in memory of Marie,” said Susan Marais, Marie’s sister and SAOC member, in a statement.
The walk’s goals are twofold: to raise needed research dollars, and to increase awareness among women of the importance of early detection in preventing ovarian cancer.
“Marie realized that, while there are lots of organizations raising money for cancer research, the biggest thing is awareness,” said Marie’s niece, Nicole Mertineit of Salem, who has volunteered with the walk since it started three years ago. “She really wanted to do more than raise money. She wanted to spread the word.”
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most prevalent cancer affecting women in the United States, with a median age at diagnosis of 63. Nearly 70 percent of cases are diagnosed after the cancer has metastasized (spread), giving it the highest mortality rate of all the female reproductive cancers. One in 55 women will develop ovarian cancer in their lifetime, yet there are simple tests to detect one’s likelihood of developing it.
“It’s not a young woman’s disease, but it’s something for which people with a genetic pre-disposition can be tested. It is very likely that many people have the gene and don’t know it,” said Mertineit. “When Marie found out she had it five years ago, no one had really ever talked to her about how the symptoms can make you feel like you’re having digestive issues, such as bloating and cramping. The rates of survival are so low that it’s really important to let people know about the signs. Women need to know that these symptoms could be something serious.”
According to Mertineit, the SAOC Walk has raised more than $113,000 over the past three years, directly funding cancer research. The group also hosts a social dinner dance each year to increase their fundraising, and both events have grown in popularity. This year, the goal is to raise $70,000.
“We’re anticipating over 250 people at the walk this year. For a little start-up charity, we think that is pretty amazing,” said Mertineit. “We work with several of the oncologists at Beth Israel, so we know firsthand that (the money) helps them.”
Funds raised go directly to ovarian cancer research at Beth Israel, under the direction of Dr. Stephen Cannistra, who heads the Gynecologic Cancer Program at the hospital. That lab was the first to show that the genes found inside a patient’s tumor can predict the response to treatment, which has contributed greatly to research targeting ovarian cancer cells – specifically exploring how those cells develop resistance to commonly used chemotherapies.
Such research helps doctors understand the genetic basis for ovarian cancer, as well as to identify novel proteins that might serve as screening tests, and to target treatments toward each patient's tumor gene profile.
Marie was a carrier of the genetic marker for ovarian cancer – the BRCA2 gene – and she was ultimately diagnosed with ovarian cancer through a blood test that showed elevated levels of the tumor marker CA-125. CA-125 is a protein found in greater concentrations within cancer cells, in particular ovarian tumors.
“They’ve been able to isolate a gene for people who have this family history, so it’s really a case of early detection,” said Mertineit. “We want to get out the story about how important early detection is. Make sure, when you go to the gynecologist, that you are getting tested for this.”
If more women see posters for the event, come to the walk, or visit the SAOC website and learn that early testing is critical to surviving ovarian cancer, the group’s work – and Marie’s life – will have made a felt impact in the greater Boston area, said her niece.
“Part of the reason we’re raising money is that there should be a way to treat this,” said Mertineit. “We are trying to reach out to women to let them know it’s something that could affect their family. Marie has been gone for a year now, but her friends and family are keeping her memory alive.”