Cancer and Clinical Services Patient Stories

A positive attitude and a team of experts

Mary Montgomery has survived both a brain tumor and ovarian cancer. As she explains it, “I just figure life is life, and you deal with problems. Those were my problems. One of my current doctors has told me that she thinks my positive attitude has played a role in my good outcomes, and that’s probably true. I could have gone somewhere dark, but I never let myself get down, and I just didn’t go there.”

She then quickly shifts credit to the OSUCCC – James and all of the people there who have cared for her. “I recommend The James to anyone, to everyone. They all played a part in how I felt during treatment,” she says. “They obviously had the medical experience I needed, but they would be so happy and upbeat. I actually looked forward to seeing them and enjoyed the atmosphere there.”

Mary’s first experience at The James was in 2016 after a doctor near her home in Jackson, Ohio, did a CT scan to try to find the reason for the debilitating pain that had started in her neck. As she explained, “He just matter-of-factly said, ‘You have brain cancer. What do you want to do?’ I knew immediately that I wanted to go to The James.

"That’s when they found the benign tumor on my pituitary gland."

“Because it was dangerously close to my carotid artery and optic nerve, there was no way they could operate — it was just too risky — so I was put on a chemo pill to make the tumor shrink, which it has.” To this day, Mary remains under the care of endocrinologist Luma Ghalib, MD, and her tumor is stabilized.

Just about a year after that successful treatment began, Mary started to feel persistent pain on her right side. “Going back to The James was never a question,” she says. After a series of tests, it was confirmed that Mary had stage 3 ovarian cancer that had spread to her pancreas. “My prognosis wasn’t good,” she says, “but I went through surgery first before considering any next steps.”

Mary’s gynecologic oncologist, Floortje Backes, MD, suggested participation in a clinical trial. “I have three daughters, and I wanted to do anything I could for their future health and the health of all women, so it was an easy choice,” she says. For the trial, Mary took just two pills a day, once in the morning and once at night.

“That’s all I did,” she says. “And now I’m in remission.”

She emphasizes that how a doctor treats you can really make an impact. “Dr. Backes and Dr. Ghalib have always been up-front and honest, but they’ve always made me feel like everything would be OK too,” she says, adding that the same consideration was extended to her high school sweetheart and husband, Carry.

“They always made sure he was included in discussions and had his questions answered,” she says. “He went to every treatment with me but one, and they always explained everything to both of us. He really struggled with the idea of losing me, so that was so important.”

At this point, Mary simply continues the same medications as prescribed and sees Dr. Ghalib and Dr. Backes at regular intervals.

“God has blessed me for sure,” she says. “The entire time I was in the trial, I just kept doing what I wanted, as much as I was able — and it’s the same way today.

“If you didn’t know anything was ever wrong with me, you simply wouldn’t know.”