Endometrial Cancer: Mert's Story

Uterine cancer has shaken Martha “Mert” Reed’s life twice. The first time she was diagnosed was at an annual appointment in December 2011. At the time she underwent a hysterectomy at a non-Franciscan hospital. 

“The doctor afterwards said that he got all the cancer, and I didn't need any follow-up chemo or radiation treatments. I was cancer-free,” said Mert. “I'm thinking, ‘Okay, my cancer journey is over. This is wonderful.’” 

But Mert’s cancer journey was far from over. During her recovery, which she describes as painful, she felt she was getting worse. Tests did in fact revealed there was something wrong with her kidney.  

“And sure enough, in the process of the hysterectomy, they had severed the ureter, which drains the kidney into the bladder, and it was not functioning,” said Mert. “It had no place to go. It had no place to drain the urine.” 

Her kidney could not be saved, and Mert’s health battle was about to take a turn for the worse.  

“In October of 2019, at a routine appointment, my annual appointment, I was diagnosed again with uterine cancer," she said. "My doctor told me that there was only a 1 percent chance I would ever get this again after having had it nine years ago because they did the radical hysterectomy.” 

But this time Mert had an advantage this time- she knew the process and was determined to take lead of her health by finding her own hospital and clinic.  

“I saw a video from Dr. Tina Ayeni, a specialist in gynecologic oncology at Franciscan Health, I knew I wanted her to lead me through this cancer journey,” said Mert. “Now I can say she’ an amazing doctor, thorough, compassionate and she is the whole package as far as if you are on a cancer journey.” 

Dr. Ayeni told Mert her endometrial cancer was inoperable because of the location of it, but said she could do radiation, chemo and treatments.  

Mert underwent intensive daily radiation for five weeks, along with weekly chemotherapy at Franciscan Health Indianapolis. Since Danville is a 90-minute drive, Mert and her husband stayed at an Indianapolis hotel each week during treatment and went back home on the weekends.

At the end of the five weeks, a PET scan showed the therapy had shrunk the tumor significantly. Her cancer care team at Franciscan Health then sent her to Chicago for a highly specialized internal radiation therapy.

“We did that in February of 2020, right before the week or so Covid broke out across the country,” she said. “We had the treatment and five years later here I am and doing very well.” 

Five years later Mert continues her care at Franciscan with CT scans, MRIs and PET scans. 

“I chose to do them at Franciscan because I wanted to keep the continuity of being there with my doctors and the specialists all at one location,” she said.  

So far, all Mert’s scans have been favorable and positive. She has her last scan scheduled for June this year and if it comes out a good report, then she will transition to annual checkups. 

“I'm here five years later as a survivor and feeling so blessed every single day,” said Mert. 

As far as lasting effects from her treatment, Mert reports only living with a little weakness in the groin area from the radiation. 

"Despite the residual weakness from the severed ureter and subsequent kidney surgery, I'm still able to golf. I can no longer play tennis. I was very active and a very aggressive tennis player. So, I do not play tennis anymore, which I miss. But my number one love is golf, and I can still do that without any problem,” said Mert.

Her doctor explained to her that when losing one kidney, the other kidney picks up the whole weight of the kidney issue and handles everything.

“It’s like you don't even realize that your one kidney's not working or functioning because the other kidney takes care of it, so I have no effects,” said Mert. “I'm not even aware of it to be honest.” 

She says her cancer journey has made her appreciate life a lot more. 

“Every day is just a whole new blessing really. I think the biggest blessings of the whole thing is my support system,” said Mert. “I have an amazing husband, I have lots of friends, and they've all been amazing and family. My belief in God, it just all has made the journey easier and gives me more confidence going forward.” 

Mert says sports also helped her stay mentally strong during and after treatment.

“I've played sports my whole life. I think my sports have given me confidence in whatever I do, whether it's playing in a match, a game or facing cancer,” said Mert. “I just have a positive attitude going forward, thinking ‘I can do this, I can get through this.’”

As for her daily routine, not much has changed.

“The first year or so was a struggle because I was still dealing with pain because of the lack of the kidney,” said Mert. “But once I got through that first year after those treatments, then things started kind of settling down and kind of going back to normal.” 

As for advice, Mert says others going through similar cancer journeys should know that your attitude is your biggest asset. 

“It's amazing that I have survived, so I could still enjoy all the things I did, which is taking care of my older friends or doing things for my family or going on trips with my husband, whatever it amounts to,” said Mert. “It is just a blessing to be able to still do that when at one point I thought I wasn't ever going to do that again because I didn't think I would survive it when they first diagnosed me. Each day is a new blessing.”