Marion Utain

Breast Cancer Patient Stories

Cecilia McAleer, BS, CCRP, (left) is Marion's clinical research coordinator at Fox Chase.  

Marion Utain recalls hearing the worst news she could imagine: that she had breast cancer. And then, as she tells the story, the miracles started. A month after her annual gynecological exam in November 2011, Marion felt a large lump in her left breast. She made an appointment to see her doctor the next day.

“I figured it was just a cyst, but wanted to be sure.” After a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound, her doctor said there was a 50/50 chance that she had cancer.  A needle biopsy at her local hospital confirmed the diagnosis. “I didn’t know what kind of cancer it was,” recalled the high school teacher, a resident of Cheltenham.  “My doctor recommended that I take the fast track to get a lumpectomy and begin radiation therapy.”  

Marion wanted a second opinion and put calls out to both a large university hospital in downtown Philadelphia and Fox Chase Cancer Center. She chose Fox Chase. The day before her lumpectomy, Marion met with her breast surgeon Marcia Boraas, MD, who had also treated her neighbor. Additional tests revealed that Marion had triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form that tests negative  to estrogen and progesterone receptors as well as Her2, making it impervious to traditional breast cancer drugs. Marion met with her medical oncologist, Lori J. Goldstein, MD, who specializes in breast cancer treatment. 

"Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) refers to a subgroup of breast cancers that do not express the estrogen receptor (ER), the progesterone receptor (PR) nor Her 2," explained Dr. Goldstein. "This group comprises about 15 percent of all breast cancer and carries a worse prognosis that tumors that have any or all of these proteins (ER, PR, and Her 2). Because TNBC does not have ER, PR or Her2 targeted therapies aimed at those receptors are inactive and, therefore, the only standard option is chemotherapy alone."  Marion's clinical trial was based on pre-clinical investigations that suggested that the chemotherapy and PARP inhibitor were especially active in TNBC. Results from this study will be presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2012. 

"I wanted the best possible treatment at the best place. So I chose Fox Chase.”

“It’s bad,” said Marion. “But I’m a researcher – I don’t rest until I’ve turned over every stone.  I wanted the best possible treatment at the best place. So I chose Fox Chase.”

Because she had not yet undergone the lumpectomy, Marion was eligible for a PARP inhibitor chemotherapy drug trial. “That was a big miracle,” she said. Dr. Goldstein prescribed six three-week cycles of chemotherapy, with two weeks on the drug and one off.  Dr. Goldstein met with Marion each week to check her progress, and within two weeks the mass was staring to shrink. After four weeks, the tumor could not be felt by touch. 

“My experience with being on a clinical trial was overwhelmingly positive.” 

“My experience with being on a clinical trial was overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “I got amazing treatment, in a private chemotherapy room, always with a member of my family with me. It really brought us closer together.”

When the trial ended, Dr. Boraas performed breast conserving surgery and recommended a course of radiation to be sure the tumor was completely gone. Following her recovery, Marion met with Tiffany Tam, MD, FRCPC, a radiation oncologist at Fox Chase. "My doctors wanted to do everything in their power to make sure the cancer was clinically gone." Dr. Tam started Marion on a six week course of radiation therapy that ended August 20, 2012.

“Overall, my experience was just amazing,” she said. “I have one of the best cancer treatment centers anywhere within five minutes of my house. I was well taken care of in every way.” Marion had a strong family history of cancer; her grandmother died of ovarian cancer at 54 and her mother had uterine cancer. Because of this history, Marion’s gynecologist oncologist, Cynthia A. Bergman, MD, FACOG, recommended that she consider prophylactic gynecologic surgery to prevent future diagnoses. Marion is currently taking this recommendation under consideration.

“Fox Chase made all the difference for my family and me.”

“If you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, don’t just get a lumpectomy without seeing a doctor at Fox Chase,” said Marion, whose team included Dr. Bergman, Dr. Boraas, Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Tam. “Fox Chase made all the difference for my family and me.”