After a routine checkup with her gynecologist, Mary Beth was sitting at her desk at work when she got the call. She had a very aggressive and rare form of endometrial cancer.
She immediately underwent a total hysterectomy and learned it was stage 3C, meaning it had spread outside the uterus.
“When you hear the word cancer you hear, ‘I’m going to die,’” says Mary Beth, who was 58 at the time. “I was not ready for that. I was going to do whatever it took to keep living and fight it.”
She quickly researched various providers to find the best treatment center for her cancer.
“I looked everywhere. I looked in South Florida. I looked in Miami, Fort Lauderdale. I looked in Jacksonville, Orlando, and working in Tampa at the time I knew of Moffitt Cancer Center and its reputation.”
Her search lead her to Dr. Sachin Apte, who recommended a very aggressive treatment to “go for the cure.”
“That’s just so reassuring when you’re being told you have stage 3C cancer that they are going to go for the cure,” she says. “So, that was heaven to me to hear those words.”
Mary Beth says she also found reassurance from whom she calls “the gynecological lifesavers,” including the nurses, infusion staff and radiologists.
“They treated me like they knew I was scared and they knew that I wanted to live. They’re there to help you live.”
That faith, hope and courage was also apparent in the other patients she saw when she came in for treatment. “I would sit there and I would see
other patients and I would think OK, they’re strong. If they can do I can do it.”
Three years later, Mary Beth is in remission. A newlywed, she enjoys spending time doting on her two grandchildren.
She stresses to friends and family the importance of getting checkups and visiting the doctor when symptoms are present. Above all, do your research if you have to find a provider, she says.
“You have pretty much one shot at it to get the best treatment that you can get. To me, Moffitt was my choice, and I would do it all over again."
