Health

Wake-lip

Ovarian cancer brings a C all
doctor face to face with
her mortality.

RUTHAN BRODSKY
Special to the Jewish News

L

ive your life to the fullest and
don't put off for tomorrow
what you can do today,"
advises Robin Stone of
Bloomfield Hills, an ovarian cancer sur-
vivor.
Dr. Stone is messianic about her
life's mission and will tell her story as
the featured speaker at Gilda's Big
Night Out III, 6:30 p.m. Thursday,
May 3. "My purpose these past few
years has been to find a way to survive
so that I could be with the people I love
and those who need me," says Stone,
who refuses to succumb to the disease
or to her body's responses to the
chemotherapy treatments.
She also quickly learned that she
couldn't take on all of her cancer battles
by herself and made a determined
effort to stay connected with friends
and family, and with a support group at
Gilda's Club in Royal Oak.
"It's a real shock to come face to face
with your own mortality," says Dr.
Stone. "Cancer is a wake-up call. I was
terrified and went to bed thinking I'll
be dead in a month. Today, I don't
think the same way about life the way I
did before I was diagnosed with can-
cer."
When Dr. Stone was first diagnosed
with advanced ovarian carcinoma in
November 1994, the Detroit-area

Gilda's Club was in the planning
stages and raising funds for a
facility. She formally joined the
Detroit Gilda's Club in 1998
when the club house opened,
after her second recurrence of the
disease.
"To join, I had to attend a
new-member meeting, be person-
ally interviewed and develop a
personal plan," recalls Dr. Stone.
"I did what was required but I
was skeptical anything would
help. After all, I was a highly
trained, skilled psychotherapist
with years in practice. I didn't
Di: Robin Stone: Family alone is not enough.
think I needed any support
group.
"I had tried other ovarian can-
uplifted.
cer support groups, but found them
"The challenges and issues I'm strug-
unsatisfactory."
gling with now are different than those
Although Dr. Stone has been in
I experienced during actual cancer
remission for the past 17 months, she
treatment. I know that if and when the
still attends her Thursday wellness
day comes that I have to resume treat-
group whenever she can.
ment, I will need the support of my
"The group is made up of men and
Gilda's friends again in a different way.
women with all different kinds of can-
"Cancer is a devastating illness," says
cer and at different stages. We've lost
Dr. Stone. "No one should have to face
some members to cancer and we sup-
it alone. One may have family and
port each other through this. We talk
friends, but the interaction with other
about everything imaginable, including
cancer patients and survivors provides a
cancer issues.
uniquely different kind of support.
"Even so, the group is not depress-
Ovarian cancer kills 14,000
ing. We tell jokes, we laugh at others
American women annually and 23,000
and we laugh at ourselves. We laugh
new cases are diagnosed each year,
about cancer. As we share our thoughts,
mostly after age 50. The_good news is
feelings, tears and laughter, we feel
that 90 percent of patients are cured

of Night Out III Gilda's Club

Gilda's Big Night Out III will be
Thursday, May 3, and is the major
fundraiser for Metro Detroit's
Gilda's Club.
This year's event features an upbeat
Motown theme, with the band KGB
and Karen Harris performing hits of
the 1960s and '70s.
The dining and dancing will be at
Andiamo Banquet Center, 7096 E.
14 Mile Road, Warren. The recep-
tion is 6:30 p.m., with program and
raffle at 8 p.m. For ticket ($150)
or raffle information, call (248)
577-0800 ext. 22.

4/27

2001

94

Gilda's Club Metro Detroit is a free,
non-residential cancer support commu-
nity in Royal Oak, founded by eight
women whose lives were touched by
cancer.
It is named in honor of the late
comedienne and former Detroiter Gilda
Radner. Her dream was to create places
where people living with cancer and
their families and friends could gather to
support one another and celebrate life.
Gilda's Club is free of charge.
For information, contact Gilda's
Club at (248) 577-0800 or
gildasclubdetroit.org

Ovarian Cancer
Symptoms

Take action if any symptoms last more
than 2-3 weeks:
• Bloating, feeling of fullness, gas
• Frequent or urgent urination
• Nausea, indigestion, constipation,
diarrhea
• Abnormal bleeding
• Unusual fatigue
• Unexplained weight change
• Shortness of breath
Ask for a combination pelvic/rectal
exam, CA-125 blood test and transvagi-
nal songram.

(cancer-free after five years) if
they are treated before cancer
cells spread (metastasize) to
other parts of the body
The bad news is that only
about 25 percent of the cases
are diagnosed before metastasis.
There are no routine screening
tests suitable for all women. The
symptoms of ovarian cancer are
often nonspecific and may not
become obvious until the later
stages.
There is a strong hereditary
component in 7 percent of the
cases when a mother, sister, or
daughter has the disease, and in
women with mutations in cer-
tain genes, BRCA-1 and
BRCA-2. Also linked to breast
cancer, these mutations are asso-
ciated with the onset of early
disease.
While approximately two in
1,000 women in the general
population carry the BRCA-1
and BRCA-2 genes, approxi-
mately two in 100 Ashkenazi
Jewish women carry these
genes.
Today, Dr. Stone focuses her energy
on fighting the cancer and getting well
again; she completely closed her prac-
tice following her second recurrence.
She helped establish a support group
for ovarian cancer patients at Hutzel
Hospital in Detroit and has reached out
to many individuals who were newly
diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
"I have been successful in staying
alive and am somewhat knowledgeable
about alternative medicine. Those who
know me have asked me to speak with
others."
She has three adult children and five
grandchildren, plus another grandbaby
due in July. Dr. Stone is concentrating
on quality of life issues.
"Now that it appears I will stay alive,
at least for a while, my hope is to refine
and redefine the quality of my life. I
loved my work and have not yet found
a replacement for the sense of compe-
tency and satisfaction I derived from
the practice of clinical psychology. I am
looking for my next career.
"To anyone diagnosed with any can-
cer: you can get through this difficult
time. Remain positive in your attitude.
Try to enjoy something about each and
every day. Look at every day you have
as a precious gift of life because it is.
"Come to Glida's Club for a very
special kind of support and help.
You don't have to suffer alone with
cancer."

❑

