Rose Ann Billingsley, 45, became one of the first patients in Georgia to have a bone marrow transplant for ovarian cancer last month at Emory Hospital.
"Emory's Winship Cancer Center has extensive experience in bone marrow transplantation for patients who have advanced breast cancer, leukemia or lymphoma," said oncologist Lawrence Morris, "but not ovarian cancer. Only a few centers have pursued transplantation for this very lethal form of cancer. There are no other known curative options for ovarian cancer that persists or recurs."
For the women in Billings-ley's family, a battle with cancer was a legacy with fate. Her mother, now 78 and a breast cancer survivor, had a radical mastectomy 23 years ago. Her sister is a breast cancer survivor. Three great aunts died of cancer, and her maternal grandmother died of colon cancer.
With this significant family history, Billingsley had physical and gynecologic examinations religiously every year. She examined her breasts every month and had a mammogram ever year, as recommended. "No one ever mentioned the possibility of ovarian cancer," she said.
Her symptoms began more than two years ago with dizziness, loss of equilibrium and weakness in her legs. She was tested for a possible heart problem, which was ruled out. After diagnoses of possible fibroid tumors and endometriosis, she went to a gynecologic oncologist, who diagnosed a cancerous tumor behind her uterus.
Cancer of the ovary is one of the most difficult cancers to detect because the ovary lies deep within the pelvis, away from structures that might cause symptoms. There currently are no accurate screening tools. Early symptoms are not specific, but the most common symptoms include abdominal pain and/or an enlarged abdomen.
After surgery to remove the tumor, Billingsley underwent five months of chemotherapy. An examination last November showed a relapse, and the tumor was removed in December. In February, she began the process of bone marrow transplantation.
"Breast cancer patients have had the option of bone marrow transplantation for almost a decade," said Morris. "Several major academic centers are just beginning clinical trials with ovarian cancer patients. Ovarian cancer, like breast cancer, responds well to outpatient chemotherapy. However, both cancers often return after being treated and spread to other organs or structures. We hope that by using higher doses of chemotherapy followed by a replenishing bone marrow transplant, we can prevent the cancer from returning and spreading."
An amateur photographer, Billingsley is photographing her face during her course of treatment at Emory. The self-portraits, called "My Mother's Promise," will document the changes in her face, the loss of hair and the changes in her self-image as she goes through the process of chemotherapy, transplant and recovery. She wears her mother's ring in the portraits. "My mother gave me her engagement ring several years ago," she said. "I am posing with the ring because it serves as a promissory note -- in my case the promise of cancer from my established legacy. The ring also represents the gleam of hope that I have that this cancer can be beaten, and that I will survive it, just as my mother and sister have survived."
Billingsley and her husband, Jim Steed, live in Stone Mountain. "My husband has been extremely supportive, which is very important for the process of my recovery," she said. A business owner -- she serves as project manager for non-profit organizations -- she expects to be back to her normal routine in a few months.
-- Lee Jenkins