Patient Testimonial - "Looking Through Cancer To Find The Positives"

SEPTEMBER 2020: Mary Lou Fennell was looking forward to the next chapter of her life when she retired in April 2020. She enjoyed her new-found freedom right after retiring by spending two weeks with one of her daughters and her family. The day she was to return to her own home in Sioux City, she had a sharp pain in her abdomen. By the next morning the pain was so unbearable, she went to the emergency department.

“I had immediate denial when the emergency physician told me that the CT scan showed my abdomen was filled with masses, too many to count, and it was no doubt cancer,” says the 66-year old. “I even re-asked the doctor if it could just be my hernia causing issues.”

That was May 3, 2020. What happened next was fast tracked said Mary Lou. She spent three days in UnityPoint Health - St. Luke’s to help control her pain. The day she got released, she had an appointment with Dr. Abu at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. She then went right back into the hospital to have three days of chemotherapy.

Mary Lou’s pathology report showed an ovarian type of cancer. But what makes Mary Lou “a unicorn case,” is the fact she had had a double mastectomy and total hysterectomy as well as her ovaries and fallopian tubes all removed ten year prior to reduce her risk for any type of breast or gynecological cancers because she had tested positive for the Breast Cancer Gene (BRCA).

Dr. Abu described it to Mary Lou that despite the surgery, one cell could have been left behind and that is how her cancer formed. Her official primary diagnosis is peritoneal cancer. So rare, Mary Lou and Dr. Abu consulted with the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center who recommended also consulting with the Mayo Clinic because they are one of the few places that could do a debulking surgery if it was needed.

“After my first round of chemo, my largest tumor had already shrunk by 60%,” Mary Lou recalls. “They changed my chemo recipe and I had more rounds of chemotherapy.” Her last treatment was on September 18. She has an appointment at Mayo in the middle of October where she will have additional scans and bloodwork to determine if she needs the debulking surgery or not. Mary Lou says if any of her tumors are still larger than 1 centimeter, she will need to have the surgery.

She anxiously awaits, but Mary Lou also knows that even if she doesn’t have to have the surgery, she will probably have to take anti-cancer maintenance medications the rest of her life.

“I am very thankful to have the June E. Nylen Cancer Center here in Sioux City. While we still needed to work with other cancer centers, I am fortunate to be able to have my treatment for a rare cancer here. It would be very inconvenient to travel, even to Omaha,” she says. “I love Dr. Abu – he is so good at explaining things to me. My family doctor, Dr. Leah Johnson, has also helped me a great deal. And then there are the nurses, my ‘chemo-sabies’.”

Mary Lou hopes that by sharing her story she will help build awareness about getting the BRCA gene test and help others act quickly when something doesn’t seem right. While it took the instant sharp pain in her abdomen, she looks back and did recall feeling bloated and “just not feeling good” but kept passing it off as weight gain. Mary Lou also encourages those that have anxiety to talk to someone about it because there is support and ways to help manage it.

Despite the cancer, Mary Lou says the isolation of COVID-19 has been the hardest to deal with. She is very thankful for her two daughters who have gone above and beyond in protecting her, getting her groceries, and being her vital support system. There is also support from many friends, cousins, and neighbors that May Lou is grateful for.

Daily appreciation is one positive outcome of her cancer diagnosis. “I have a white board at my house and every day I write one thing I am thankful for. My daughters… people who support me… my seven grandchildren (that she cannot wait to interact with again)… delivered groceries… saving money because I don’t have to buy shampoo… I don’t have to shave my legs… less bone pain. Taking the time to mentally focus and acknowledge what I am grateful for has helped me a great deal. I can find positives from my cancer.”

Mary Lou Fennell says her two daughters, Alisha and Elizabeth, have been her biggest cheerleaders and supporters through her cancer journey.