Stage III Ovarian Cancer: Jackie's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Jackie Page had just turned 52 when she was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer in early 2019. A respiratory illness had taken her to the emergency room, where doctors found a large amount of fluid around her lungs. Further testing showed that the fluid was related to ovarian cancer that had spread from her abdomen to the lung cavity.

At Dana-Farber, Page was offered standard chemotherapy or participation in a phase III clinical trial combining standard treatment with TSR-042, a PD-1 immunotherapy drug, and niraparib, a PARP inhibitor. She chose the trial. Chemotherapy was intended to shrink the cancer before surgery, but complications after several cycles meant her original operation could not go ahead as planned. She first underwent an exploratory procedure involving the lungs and later had ovarian cancer surgery.

Page continued the trial with daily oral medication, infusions every 6 weeks, and checkups every 3 weeks. By early 2020 she felt well enough to make the trip to Boston on her own. At the time of the September 2020 story, she was in remission and there was no sign of recurrent disease. She remained physically active and described the trial as giving her the opportunity to focus on enjoying everyday life.