Maintaining normal function during rounds of chemotherapy is difficult, but Marlyne Barrett isn’t your average cancer patient.
Barrett, 46, is one of the stars on the NBC TV series “Chicago Med” and has played nurse Maggie Lockwood for nearly 10 years even during chemotherapy.
“It’s impressive that Marlyne was able to keep working through chemotherapy,” Dr. Raj Dasgupta, chief medical adviser for Fortune Recommends Health, told The Epoch Times. “Most people feel too tired or sick to do much during treatment, so her determination stands out.”
Barrett said a tumor “started on the left ovary and took over and went all the way almost to the other,” and it “looked like I had a full-grown fetus inside of me.”
“My stomach was accumulating this fluid that made me look like I was nine months pregnant. They were draining like eight or nine liters of liquid out of me that made me automatically lose like 15 pounds every time,” she said.
“The mass was causing these spasms, and then on top of that was chemo,” Barrett said. “When I would get chemo, you’re talking about a 10-hour infusion that day. And you don’t necessarily get the opportunity to heal between the treatments.”
Ovarian cancer forms in the tissues of one or both ovaries and can be difficult to detect because of the subtle and wide-ranging symptoms.
Unlike a Pap smear to diagnose cervical cancer or a mammogram to detect breast cancer, there is no similar test for ovarian cancer. “The symptoms are normally vague, like bloating or cramps, and many women diagnosed with ovarian cancer say they were asymptomatic,” cancer researcher Mona S. Jhaveri told The Epoch Times.
Jhaveri is founder of Music Beats Cancer, a non-profit that partners with musical artists to raise money and awareness to fight cancer.
‘How Do We Support You in This?’
Despite looking emaciated from 30 rounds of chemotherapy and having cheeks that were caved in, Barrett continued to show up for her scenes because it was “life giving” and helped her maintain a positive outlook.“I think the initial phone calls with production and the studio to get greenlit to work were some of the most special phone calls that I’ve ever made in my life,” she said. “It wasn’t just, ‘Hey Marlyne, can you work?’ The question was, ‘How do we support you in this?'”
“Mobility means life … so as long as I was able to move, work, laugh at everybody’s bad jokes,” she said. “People were treating me like I was normal, even when my eyebrows were no longer present. It made the time fun, not necessarily having to think about [my health] all the time.”
During chemotherapy, Barrett said that she took time to focus on her mental health. For example, she attended regular counseling sessions, received massages twice a week, embraced Korean spas, swam, laughed a lot and focused on family.
“Laughter and positive thinking, or any other ‘feel good’ support helps maintain the mental health of a patient which gets dramatically compromised when undergoing rounds of debilitating chemo cocktails,” Jhaveri said.
Symptoms often only arise in the later stages of the disease, making it nearly impossible to diagnose early.
Risk factors include genetic mutations like BRCA1/BRCA2, family history, aging, and certain reproductive factors. Ultrasounds and CA 125 testing are among the screening options.
While there is nothing Barrett can do to completely prevent a cancer recurrence, Dasgupta said there are steps she can take to keep her body as healthy as possible.
“She should focus on healthy eating, regular exercise, managing stress, avoiding smoking, and limiting alcohol,” he said. “These habits can help reduce the chances of cancer coming back.”
Regular checkups with an oncologist and constant screenings for cancer occurrence are important, according to Jhaveri.
“Preventing recurrence is not likely in her control at this point,” she said. “Screening will help identify recurrence enabling doctors to start treatment again before the cancer becomes unmanageable.”
For now, Barrett is in complete remission, according to PEOPLE, which means the signs and symptoms of cancer are gone from her body even if cancer cells remain.
“I feel fantastic,” Barrett said. “It’s a bittersweet celebration because you’re getting to know yourself post- such an experience. You’re getting to know your body again, you’re getting to know yourself, so you’re celebrating with deep gratefulness.”
