It was through an annual check-up that her doctor discovered what he thought was a cyst on Patti Fowler’s uterus in April 2018.
Subsequent blood tests showed an elevated level of CA-125 in her blood. The normal range is 0-35 units per milliliter.
“Mine was 1,598,” said Fowler.
September is ovarian/gynecologic cancer month.
“Ovarian cancer is a bad, bad disease,” said Dr. Sharad Ghamande, Associate Director for Clinical Trials and Research at the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University and the chairman of the OB/GYN department. “The average life expectancy is three years.”
Ovarian cancer is often found in its later stages. There aren’t routine screening tests.
With Fowler, she had vague symptoms.
“I couldn’t believe how tired I was, and when I ate, I had a full feeling,” said Fowler, who spent 35 years working at First Baptist Church of Augusta. and serving as its minister of weekday education when the cancer forced her to retire.
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“It broke my heart because I loved my job,” said Fowler who had chalked up the tiredness to her job.
Standard protocol for ovarian cancer is surgery followed by chemotherapy, Ghamande said.
Fowler agreed to the preliminary surgery, but she wasn’t so sure about chemo. She called herself a “strong advocate for not doing chemo.” She’d seen its effects on friends and was concerned about her quality of life.
The Stage 3 cancer had not spread, and she said it was a “clean” surgery.
She did agree to chemo. Since 2018, Fowler has undergone seven different treatments. Some treatments have been around for a while, but others are new, and Fowler participated in studies of their efficacy.
“Dr. Ghamande told me If he could keep me alive long enough, there’d always be something new in research we could try if I was willing,” she said.
Some of them worked – for a while. Some caused undesirable side effects, but Fowler said she feels she’s always been treated with respect by her doctor.
“One study was four pills. It did a good job with the CA-125, but it was not good for my liver, and it made me nauseous. I was not making any progress. He took me off of it and said ‘it was not good for your overall body chemistry.’ It helped other people. It’s since been approved by the FDA. I realized he cared more about me as a patient than a science experiment,” she said.
Fowler’s mother also had ovarian cancer, and she too participated in clinical trials. One of them was for a drug called Avastin, which was later approved by the FDA. Fowler was on Avastin from June 2021 to July 2022, and like most of the protocols, it worked for a while until it ran its course.
Fowler is currently part of her most aggressive study. She was one of the first five people in the world to participate in a study which Ghamande said he’s cautiously optimistic about. It was a highly invasive process that included involved removing Fowler’s T cells from her blood in April, strengthening them and returning them to her body in July. She was hospitalized from June 28-July 11.
“Your own T cells are not as damaging as chemo, but they can attack the cancer,” she said.
Ghamande said it’s a one-time procedure, and it takes a lot of coordination with medical facilities and personnel to do.
Now, Fowler receives a monthly immunotherapy infusion.
“I have continued to get stronger and healthier, and I have more energy,” she said.
Ghamande said part of Fowler’s progress has been due to Fowler herself.
“She’s got an unbelievable attitude of ‘can do.’ In the ups and downs, she’s handled it with such an unbelievable amount of grace and faith. It’s been an absolute delight to take care of her. Not many people can say they’ve been part of four different clinical trials since 2018.”
As for Fowler, she said she’s “thankful I’m still here. I just hope that I can continue to shine and be a reflection of God’s grace.”.
Ghamande is a strong advocate for patients with gynecological cancers.
“Today, we probably see more gyn oncology than most places in the Southeastern United States and that includes all of the big cancer centers,” he said of the Georgia Cancer Center.
He also believes in the importance of clinical trials especially for women in underserved populations. He’s served as the principal investigator on an NCI grant for 11 years that has allowed the Georgia Cancer Center to get trials into other areas of Georgia to reach minorities, and he’s pleased with the work they’ve done.
He said between 45-47% of patients in those trials are minority patients.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
