Help Marina Battle Ovarian Cancer

Hello friends:

I’d like to share with you my story so that you can better appreciate why your help now is of vital importance to my life and lives of my young family. In March 2020, I was diagnosed with low grade endometrioid ovarian cancer, stage 3C and endometrial cancer stage 1C. I completed 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 25 cycles of radiation therapy.

A few months after my first bout of chemo and radiation, I found out that two lesions with malignant cells have appeared in my pelvic area. I’m about to finish my second round of chemo, but doctors have already made it known that additional treatments beyond chemo will be necessary to fight this cancer.

Endless cycle of treatments, imaging exams, blood tests and appointments is not what scares me. The issue is that one of the most promising immunotherapy medication recommended to me by doctors, Keytruda, is way beyond my financial means and not covered by my insurance. The reason being that although there is significant research data showing that this medication is successful in treating different types of cancer, especially those with my type of genetic mutation (dMMR), it’s still under investigation as a treatment of ovarian cancer more broadly. What does this mean for me in practical terms? I will have to come up with $10,000 every month for the next two years for my monthly Keytruda medication. This will be simply impossible without your help.

My goal is to try this immunotherapy for a year and assess my progress at that point in time. Based on my doctors’ recommendations, I strongly believe that it will allow me to make the most of what modern medicine has to offer and continue my fight.

Forgive me if “fight” sounds aggressive but the focus here is not on my fight against cancer as much as my fight for those around me who are my core and who need me to stick around. I am a 44-year-old mother of two beautiful boys and a wife to an amazing guy. My boys are eleven and seven years old, and they need my guidance, love and support. I am fighting for more time to help my kids with their homework and to tuck them in at night. More time to watch my boys grow and be part of events in their lives, big and small alike. More time to celebrate wedding anniversaries, birthdays with my nieces and picnics with friends. And if I am lucky, enough time to grow old with the love of my life.

For this to happen, I owe it to myself and my family to make every effort to take advantage of a promising treatment for patients with my type of ovarian cancer. And with any luck, your contribution will help me come out a winner in the fight of and for my life. Thank you, friends.