A mother’s call
to activism

By Ruth Rovner
For the Times

Last May, when her daughter Maryalyce died of ovarian cancer at age 42, Alice Martin of Lawndale felt crushing grief. She had watched her daughter suffer terrible pain during the previous year. She saw her seek medical help, going in vain from one doctor to another.
"When she complained of pain, the doctors put her on painkillers," she says. "No one saw the symptoms of ovarian cancer, even though she kept getting worse and worse."
Finally, Maryalyce did get an accurate diagnosis. But it was too late. Despite undergoing several surgeries plus painful chemotherapy, she died last May, just 13 months after her diagnosis, leaving behind an 8-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter.
Alice Martin had been with her daughter every day throughout the harrowing experience. The loss devastated her.
"Some days I couldn’t even get out of bed," she recalls.
She had barely recovered from the death of her husband of 45 years, William, who two years earlier had lost his battle with prostate cancer.
"But to lose a child is so different," she says. "It left a huge hole in my heart."
A turning point came last September. That’s when this grieving mother learned about the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. The goal of this non-profit group is to raise awareness and provide support and education for this deadliest of all gynecological cancers. The foundation is named for a victim of ovarian cancer whose situation was very similar to that of Maryalyce Martin.
Alice Martin and her daughter Suzanne Martin were eager to learn more, so they met personally with Robin Cohen, the co-founder. Based in Delaware County, the Rollman Foundation raises funds and sponsors programs to educate the public, and doctors, about a disease that is the fifth leading cause of death among women in the U.S. It affects one in every 58 women. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2008 an estimated 20,000 women will be diagnosed.
The Rollman Foundation wants to change these statistics. It works to promote early diagnostic testing — something Maryalyce Martin did not have —and more effective treatment. And it raises funds for research toward a cure.
These goals resonated deeply with Alice Martin, and she soon became an eager participant in the foundation’s activities.
"What happened to my daughter was so horrific that I just had to do something," says Martin. "I felt if I could do something in her memory, then I would be helping my three granddaughters and other women."
She began attending monthly meetings and soon she volunteered to participate in one of the foundation’s major events. It’s the fourth annual Teal Ribbon 5K Run and Walk (the teal ribbon is the symbol for ovarian cancer). Open to casual and competitive athletes, it will be held this Saturday in Fairmount Park. More than 1,500 participants are expected.
Alice Martin plunged into an effort to support this event. Assisted by Suzanne, she designed a Web site to enlist support for the event and solicit funds, explaining that it was in memory of her daughter.
Titled Maryalyce’s Light Shines On, the Web site tells the poignant and dramatic story of Maryalyce’s losing battle with ovarian cancer.
"Don’t let any more women suffer such incredibly severe physical and emotional pain," concludes the Web site write-up. "Please sponsor us as we walk in hope of a cure. We want Maryalyce’s legacy to live on through a cure for ovarian cancer."
In addition to the Web site, Alice Martin sent fund-raising letters to individuals and corporations, and also sent numerous e-mails. She contacted local TV and radio stations suggesting that they do stories about ovarian cancer.
Soon other family members joined in the effort. Daughter Suzanne, who lives in Glenside, was involved from the start, and Suzanne’s husband, Scott Rubin, helped with the mailings. Then others began to help, including Alice Martin’s sons, Bernard and Billy Martin, her two nieces, Madeline O’Brien and Eileen Todd, and her daughter-in-law Kristin Martin.
"It’s a real family effort," says Martin.
And the effort has been an impressive success: the family has raised $6,300.
It’s a family especially vulnerable to ovarian and prostate cancer. Two of Alice Martin’s sisters-in-law (her husband’s sisters) died of the disease. Martin nursed one of them, Esther Martin, through her illness; she died at age 40. Her other sister-in-law, Eleanor Martin, died at age 54. And Martin’s husband was a victim of prostate cancer.
She made sure that her children knew all about the test for the BRACA1 cancer gene.
"Anyone who tests positive for a mutation in this gene is susceptible to ovarian, prostate or breast cancer," says Alice Martin.
In 2001, all four of her adult children — two sons and two daughters — got tested. Maryalyce and her brother Bernard tested positive.
So Maryalyce became especially careful about her health. She enrolled in a risk assessment and screening program. And when one doctor recommended a prophylactic hysterectomy, she went ahead with this procedure. (But it does not necessarily prevent ovarian cancer, as she would soon find out.)
Despite her vigilance, no test exists for early detection of ovarian cancer. And that is a key to why it is so often fatal. Ovarian cancer activists emphasize that the symptoms are often confused with other conditions. In fact, Maryalyce had some of the classic symptoms, but several doctors missed the diagnosis.
"It still makes me so angry," says her sister Suzanne. "Doctors should know about the pain pattern for ovarian cancer. But I feel her doctors were too dismissive. One doctor kept writing prescriptions for pain killers. At one point she was on ten different drugs, including morphine and OxyContin."
"It’s a horrible disease, and there’s not enough money being put into research," continues Suzanne Martin. "Breast cancer has so much funding and support because so many women are survivors who become active. But ovarian cancer is so deadly, there are very few survivors. That’s why families need to champion the cause."
Her family is certainly doing that. This Saturday, they will be out in full force for the walk and run. Alice Martin estimates that a total of 40 family members — including six grandchildren — will participate as a team.
It’s the culmination of months of hard work. But for Alice Martin, it has been well worth it.
"It gives me a sense of satisfaction to be doing something to help other women not lose the terrible fight that Maryalyce lost," she says. "My heart still aches for her. But doing this helps to heal my heart." ••
The Teal Ribbon Run/Walk for ovarian cancer will be held this Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at the Carousel House in Fairmount Park. It’s open to the public. Participants can register in person the day of the race.
For information about the Rollman Foundation and its ongoing activities, call toll free 877-730-1100 or 610-446-2272 or visit the Web site www.sandyovarian.org