by Debra Rubin
NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

November 18, 2008

Martha Davidovich helped save her own life. The East Brunswick resident, first diagnosed with ovarian cancer five years ago, remains alive today in part because she is taking the drug, Taxol, that she spent 10 years helping to develop as a senior research scientist for its manufacturer, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Two years ago there was a reoccurrence of the disease in her liver.

“I was lucky,” said Davidovich. “I won that battle too.”

Davidovich spoke of her battles and the insidious nature of ovarian cancer, which strikes Ashkenazi-Jewish women at rates far higher than the general population, during a Nov. 12 meeting of the Raritan Valley chapter of Hadassah — of which she is a former president — at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park.

Appearing with her was oncologist Dr. Ellen Ronnen of the Central Jersey Oncology Center.

Norma Arbit, chapter co-vice president of programming, recalled meeting the then 17-year-old Davidovich in 1970, when she knocked on the door of the new family from Rumania who had moved a block from the Highland Park Conservative Temple. She would stay friendly with the family, even accompanying them when they took their oath of American citizenship.

So it was with some shock that “at a meeting just like this” five years ago, Davidovich told her she would have to give up her presidency to fight the cancer.

“She has shown strength that is incredible,” said Arbit.

Davidovich said ovarian cancer is hard to diagnose and is called “the silent killer” because women often don’t realize they are sick until the cancer is in its advanced stages, when it’s much harder to treat and only 29 percent can be saved. Despite its high death rate, however, the condition is treatable.

“I am living proof,” said Davidovich. “I’m not cured, but I’m a survivor.”

She described herself five years ago as being “a perfectly healthy 49-year-old with no symptoms I associated with cancer.”

Yet, “the subtle signs” were there — the early onset of menstruation and abrupt entrance into menopause at 47, frequent urination, and the appearance of blood in the urine.

“But I was busy with my husband, my kids, my job, Hadassah,” said Davidovich.

One Shabbat evening, she could actually feel her stomach expanding.

“In just 15 minutes you could see the skin stretch,” recalled Davidovich. “I looked in the mirror and I looked seven months pregnant.”

Two weeks later she was reading a New York Times article about gynecological disorders and connected her symptoms with ovarian cancer.

“I went straight to the gynecologist, where tests confirmed my suspicion,” she said. “Ovarian cancer gives off a lot of fluid that accumulates in the abdominal system. That’s what makes the bloating.”

Despite surgeries, the cancer progressed to the virulent stage-four level, and Davidovich underwent aggressive chemotherapy.

Ronnen said the disease is most common in women 50 to 59, and dangerous because its innocuous symptoms seem to indicate nothing by themselves. However, if multiple symptoms appear, she advises further testing.

But, she added, “family history trumps everything,” and women with immediate family members with ovarian or breast cancer are far more susceptible. Other cancers also are risk factors, including some found in male family members.

Ashkenazi women are also far more likely to carry the BRCA I and BRCA II genes, which places them at a greatly elevated risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Davidovich will probably always be on chemo but said facing death taught her a lot about living life to its fullest and gave her a mission.

“I’m very dedicated to talking about my fight with cancer and bringing awareness to the community,” she said. “I want to use my battle against ovarian cancer to educate as much as I can.”

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