Ketty Fessahazion has a type of ovarian cancer, but you wouldn’t know it.
In fact, thanks to her treatment through a clinical trial at HonorHealth Research Institute, the 42-year-old Glendale financial expert hardly notices it.
“Thankfully, I’ve had very few symptoms, if any at all,” says Ketty, whose tumor now is merely a chronic, though manageable, condition. “If nobody told me, I wouldn’t know I had this (cancer). My energy level is great. I just live my life normally, and this (cancer) is just a part of it.”
Initial diagnosis and treatment
Ketty suffered from a persistent cough and often found it difficult to breathe. An examination found fluid in her lungs — a lot of it — two liters that resulted from her late-stage ovarian cancer, a tumor on her left ovary. That same year, Ketty had a full hysterectomy, but the tumor persisted, and the cancer eventually spread to her lymph nodes.
She received chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but eventually, the chemo stopped helping, and she was told that she had run out of options, a prospect that frightened her.
Finding new treatment options
Ketty was referred to the HonorHealth Research Institute and the promise of a clinical trial under the guidance of Erkut Borazanci, MD, medical director of the Institute’s Cancer Research Division.
She was skeptical when she considered the word “research,” and she wondered if she was going to be a lab rat.
“I had all those concerns,” Ketty explains. “But when I walked into the HonorHealth Research Institute, I was immediately greeted with warmth and empathy. Everybody tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible.”
Dr. Borazanci already had two different treatment plans ready. “I loved that because it felt like they cared about me; that they really were planning for me and thinking about the future – how this (treatment) is going to impact me long-term,” she shares.
Pursuing her passions
After growing up in Los Angeles and receiving a degree from UC Santa Barbara, Ketty sold insurance for most of a decade before taking a job as a national and international corporate team leader and regional vice president for one of the nation’s largest financial institutions.
But with her cancer under control, and after receiving permission to remain for now on a clinical trial that works for her, Ketty quit her corporate job and recently began two different ventures.
“Through my coaching business, I empower women to live their full potential by knowing their core values, changing their limiting beliefs and learning how to set boundaries for themselves,” she says. “It’s time for us to come back to who we are; be able to be well in ourselves so that we can continue to help those who we love and surround us. That’s just something that’s been in my heart for a long time. If I can share what I’ve learned through my own journey with people, why not?”
Drawing on her experience in insurance and volunteering, Ketty also recently started a non-profit.
“We provide funding for funeral expenses for low-income families who have lost a child due to an illness,” she shares. “Once you have a chronic illness, insurance doesn’t cover you for life insurance. These parents are already having to struggle with the financial hardships of hospital bills. ‘How do I pay for groceries, but at the same time take care of this? And yet, my heart is hurting because I just lost my child.’ I want to help those families.”
Offering patients innovative treatment options
The HonorHealth Research Institute is at the front of today’s most important health questions. Established in 2005, the Institute has become a patient destination for treatments often available nowhere else.
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Experts provide high-quality cancer care
The HonorHealth Cancer Care team is here to care for you wherever you are on your cancer journey. From preventative care to oncology and hematology services to survivorship resources, we’re here for you every step of the way.