Simple Surgery Catches Ovarian Cancer, Saves Mom of Three

A routine request during minor surgery turned into a lifesaving discovery that Carla Murray wants every woman to know about.

Murray had already taken control of her health years earlier with a preventive double mastectomy. She thought she was done worrying about cancer until she heard a podcast from Memorial Sloan Kettering about removing fallopian tubes to prevent ovarian cancer.

In 2024, when she needed minor pelvic surgery for a benign condition, she casually asked her doctor to remove her fallopian tubes during the procedure. Days later, her phone rang with news that changed everything.

Doctors found cancer in one of her tubes. An MRI just months earlier had shown nothing, and Murray felt no symptoms whatsoever.

"I was staged at 3A. It had already spread into my abdomen," Murray said. The cancer was already advanced, requiring removal of her omentum, cervix, uterus and ovaries.

Dr. Kara Long, a gynecologic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering, says this is exactly why the procedure matters so much. Ovarian cancer has no symptoms when it begins and no screening tests exist.

"Prevention is all we have," Long said. Research shows 70 to 80% of the most common ovarian cancers actually start in the end of the fallopian tube, not the ovaries themselves.

A study published in JAMA in February found that removing fallopian tubes reduced the risk of serious ovarian cancers by nearly 80%. The procedure takes only minutes and carries very little risk when added to another surgery.

The Ripple Effect

Memorial Sloan Kettering is now conducting a study to spread awareness in an innovative way. Patients scheduled for non-gynecological operations watch an educational video about fallopian tube removal and can choose to have the preventive procedure done during their scheduled surgery.

The challenge is getting the word out. Long says most patients don't know this option exists, and many doctors still aren't aware of the research either.

Murray completed six rounds of chemotherapy in March 2025 and currently shows no evidence of disease. Now the mother of three has a new mission: telling everyone she meets about this option, even strangers in the grocery store line.

"It's one thing to hear that it can prevent ovarian cancer. It does. It works. I'm here," Murray said. "I believe that it saved my life. I believe that I'm gonna be around a long time."

A simple question during routine surgery gave Murray decades more life with her three children, and she's determined to make sure other women know they have the same choice.