{"id":506870,"date":"2024-08-08T13:43:40","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T17:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/ovarian-cancer-the-story-of-consuelo-saez-a-testimony-that-can-save-lives\/"},"modified":"2024-08-08T13:43:40","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T17:43:40","slug":"ovarian-cancer-the-story-of-consuelo-saez-a-testimony-that-can-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/style\/ovarian-cancer-the-story-of-consuelo-saez-a-testimony-that-can-save-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Ovarian cancer: the story of Consuelo S\u00e1ez, a testimony that can save lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mexico.- <\/strong>In 2022, Consuelo S\u00e1ez, a Mexican woman, began experiencing symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness; however, as she did not improve, she requested a CT scan to observe the activity of her organs. Consuelo sought a second opinion with Dr. Marcela del Carmen, from Massachusetts General Hospital, who discovered that it was Ovarian Cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noticing that something is not right<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\nWhat initially seemed like a stomach problem in mid-2022, turned into a more complex situation for Consuelo. After numerous treatments without favorable results, her local doctor performed a study called PET (Positron Emission Tomography), which allows images to be taken of the patient’s body that show the activity of the body’s organs.\n\nConsuelo sought a second opinion from Dr. Marcela del Carmen, a renowned specialist in the United States and president of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, who is also a Gynecologic Oncology surgeon. Upon seeing the results of the tomography, Dr. Del Carmen concluded: \u201cWithout a doubt, this is ovarian cancer.\u201d\n\nThe Road to Mass General Hospital<\/strong>\n\nFortunately for Consuelo, she had known Dr. Marcela del Carmen and Mass General for some time, because her granddaughter suffers from an autoimmune disease that could only be treated at the hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts.\n\nDuring this process, Consuelo’s daughter forged a good friendship with Doctor del Carmen, to whom she requested a second opinion about her mother’s PET scan. With her\n\nWith experience as the author of more than 250 peer-reviewed research articles and a book specializing in rare gynecological cancers, Dr. Del Carmen had no doubt that it was ovarian cancer, so she recommended that Consuelo seek treatment as an international patient as soon as possible at the facilities of Massachusetts General Hospital, an institution that has a Cancer Center ranked among the best in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.\n\nDr. Del Carmen also worked closely with Consuelo’s care team to ensure a seamless transition to Mass General Brigham.\n\nAccording to global statistics, in the coming years, 1 in 3 women will suffer from cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 77 will suffer from some type of gynecological cancer.1 In Mexico, Ovarian Cancer represents 4% of all cancers in women, with an estimated 5,000 new cases each year. A particularity of this Cancer is that it is difficult to detect in early stages, so its mortality rate is around 60%. 2\n\n“The problem with the early detection of Ovarian Cancer is that there is no test like a screening that allows its detection. When women present symptoms of this cancer it is because they are already in advanced stages, we are talking about 85% of the cases”, comments Dr. Del Carmen.\n\n“In Consuelo’s case, the cancer didn’t have much volume, fortunately she had the PET scan done in a timely manner in Mexico, which allowed us to realize it in time and start the treatment as soon as possible,” she assured.\n\nA successful ovarian tumor operation<\/strong>\n\nDr. Del Carmen explains that the treatment for ovarian cancer consists of 3 stages, starting with surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy, and then a follow-up and maintenance phase.\n\n“In Consuelo’s case, it was open surgery that consisted of a resection to eradicate all the cancer. The patient stayed in the hospital for 6 days in recovery, as Mass General has a protocol that allows patients to prepare before and after the operations,” says Dr. Del Carmen.\n\n“Before the operation, I was told that I had to consume a liquid with a lot of carbohydrates to avoid dehydration and prevent any complications. After the surgery, that same night, I was told that I had to get up and walk 2 or 3 times a day.\n\n“I resumed my solid diet immediately. This allowed me to recover in less than a week,” highlighted patient Consuelo S\u00e1ez.\n\nThe next step in the treatment was chemotherapy, which according to Dr. Del Carmen’s recommendation should begin no more than 25 days after the operation, since although the operation was a success, it is common for some cells to continue circulating through the lymphatic system, so they must be eradicated.\n\n“I received the first chemotherapy in the third week after my surgery. In total, I received 6 chemotherapies, one every 3 weeks. I took 3 in Mexico and 3 at Mass General because I have enormous trust in the doctors and nurses at the hospital. At the end of the treatment, they did a new study to verify that I was cancer-free. Finally, they only prescribed me some pills for the maintenance phase,” says Consuelo.\n\nDuring Consuelo’s treatment and stay in Boston, Dr. Del Carmen maintained close communication with her local doctors to inform them of the patient’s progress.\n\n\n

New maintenance treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n“3 years ago, ovarian cancer patients who finished their treatment went into a surveillance stage where they were seen every 3 months to check for recurrence. Today we have advanced a lot and we already have a treatment for maintenance therapy based on pills with PARP inhibitors. These inhibitors help repair the damage caused to DNA, and prevent cancer cells from repairing themselves, improving the progression of patients who received chemotherapy,” said Dr. Del Carmen.\n\nThe specialist added that “the studies on the benefits of PARP inhibitors were developed in part by researchers at Brigham And Women’s Hospital, which is part of the Mass General Brigham system, and are based on a type of ovarian cancer mutation that matches Consuelo’s, making her a candidate for this treatment.”\n\n“Nowadays, PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy should be considered for eligible patients. In the more than 25 years I have of experience, it has been wonderful to see the progress in treatments and medical technology. Research has allowed us to have new tools to improve the survival and well-being of patients,” commented Dr. Del Carmen.\n\n\n

Resuming the lifestyle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\nThanks to this innovative treatment, Consuelo has been able to resume her lifestyle with normality, taking her treatment, attending periodic medical check-ups and undergoing blood tests and CT scans during the two years of maintenance treatment.\n\nSubsequently, studies must be carried out and consultations attended once a year for 3 more years, with the aim that, after 5 years of treatment, the patient is completely cancer-free.\n\n“It’s a long process, but there are studies that show that better results can be achieved with the support of family members, since emotions play an important role. That’s why, as doctors at Mass General, we also focus on providing human care to our patients. I was fortunate enough to meet Consuelo and today we are very good friends. We must remember that we are not treating cancer, but women with cancer,” concluded Dr. Del Carmen.\n\n\n

\u00b9 National Cancer Institute
2 Global Cancer Observatory<\/p>\n\n\nMass General Brigham is a healthcare system that unites great minds in medicine to achieve an impact that changes the lives of patients around the world.\n\nThe system is composed of 16 hospitals, including 5 nationally renowned hospitals ranked by U.S. News & World Report: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mass Eye and Ear, McLean Hospital, and Spaulding Rehabilitation. In addition, there are community and specialty hospitals, a medical insurance plan, physician networks, home care, and long-term care services.\n\n\n

Mass General Brigham is a non-profit organization committed to patient care, teaching, and research. With an annual budget of more than $2.1 billion, the Mass General Brigham research program is one of the largest in the United States and funds more than 3,700 clinical trials. In addition, it is one of the leading biomedical research organizations in the country, with several teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexico.- In 2022, Consuelo S\u00e1ez, a Mexican woman, began experiencing symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness; however, as she did not improve, she requested a CT scan to observe the activity of her organs. Consuelo sought a second opinion with Dr. Marcela del Carmen, from Massachusetts General Hospital, who discovered that it was Ovarian Cancer. Noticing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":506871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[35157,43681],"class_list":["post-506870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-style","tag-consuelo","tag-ovary"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-27Rk","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-08-at-10.25.18-AM.jpeg","dum_api":{"author_name":"Redacci\u00f3n De \u00daltimo Minuto","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-logo-de-ultimo-minuto-96x96.png","categories_name":["Style"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-08-at-10.25.18-AM.jpeg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}