That's when she found Patrick Stiff, M.D., an oncologist at Loyola University Medical Center's Bernardin Cancer Center in Chicago. Doctors preformed on Nancy what's called an autologous stem cell transplant, removing stem cells from Nancy's bone marrow and freezing them before transplanting them back into her body after six days of intense chemotherapy. These cells replenish the bone marrow and therefore the blood cells. Chemotherapy up to a thousand times the normal level killed Nancy's tumors. The stem cells gave her a fresh immune system.
Doctors say the treatment works best in patients diagnosed early.
For her and her family, it meant a second chance at life. Autologous stem cell transplants are not yet considered standard care for ovarian cancer patients, but doctors hope that changes in the next three to four years after further clinical studies.