“I remember saying, ‘God, take my hand,’” she recalls. “And then I never looked back.”
Diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer in 2025, Peck knew she could rely on Joshua G. Cohen, M.D., the medical director of gynecologic oncology for City of Hope Orange County, and City of Hope surgical oncologist Thinzar Min Lwin, M.D., for a level of cancer-focused expertise it would be difficult to find elsewhere. She also has a strong faith and is close to her family.
So after four rounds of treatment that prepared her for complex abdominal and gynecologic surgery, Peck did not spend time worrying or “over-analyzing” it, she says.
“I just knew it was a step, just like the chemo was a step and the biopsy had been a step. Everything was a step toward my healing,” she says. “I called this the fix-it surgery and I knew it would make me well.”
This clear-eyed resolve has guided Peck,73, through the challenges of her cancer journey, including the combination surgery, which Dr. Cohen and Dr. Lwin successfully completed in a synchronized approach, in a single day. “I thought, ‘This surgery is something that has to be done, so we’re going to do it and move on. Being able to have everything done in one procedure by both my doctors was a major advantage over having to do more than one surgery,’” she says.
Her family and close friends support her resolve to heal. One of her sisters has a medical background and moved in with Peck to provide care.
“With my family and faith, and Dr. Cohen and his team, there was no doubt in my mind that these were all steps that had to be taken to get me well,” Peck says.
She’s adamant about not allowing other people’s emotions or fears to stir anxieties in her. This is why she initially did not tell anyone about her diagnosis. “It took me a while to tell anybody other than my immediate family and my boyfriend,” Peck says.
She cautiously let others know of her diagnosis via texts, but with firm instructions: She did not want a pep talk or any words of encouragement. “It is absolutely helpful for some patients, and it’s completely understandable. I want them to have that, but I didn’t want somebody telling me, ‘You can do it!’ because I already knew in my core that I was going to do it,” Peck says. “Maybe I’m built a little different, but every person with cancer is an individual with different needs for their journey.”
Peck has experienced difficult side effects of treatment, such as nausea, neuropathy in her hands and feet, achy joints and a low-grade temperature, but she does not dwell on them. “If the side effects are the tradeoff for fighting the cancer, then that’s what I do,” she says, adding that her care team has always worked intently to provide solutions. "Plus, I enjoy being a blonde for a bit," she says with a laugh.
Peck was a dancer before she married her husband, who owned the popular Fullerton restaurant Angelo’s and Vinci’s. After her husband died, she kept the restaurant running for years, working seven days a week and managing 70 employees, until she closed it in 2023.
While she was working at the restaurant, she says, interactions with others were often short and rushed. But since her diagnosis and retirement, Peck focuses on cultivating personal relationships and taking time for real conversations.
“When I didn’t have the restaurant anymore and this happened, I thought ‘Slow down and look at people,’” Peck says. “’Look at what’s behind their eyes, who they are, and what they mean.’ If I don’t understand what someone is saying, I don’t assume, I ask a question.”
Today, Peck is enthusiastically continuing her close monitoring and maintenance treatment. Her goal is to travel and continue deepening friendships as she heals, and she’s looking forward to a family vacation this year.
Her feelings about what it takes to navigate cancer are encapsulated by a yard sign her sister gave her. “It says, ‘Please be mindful of the energy you bring into this space,’” Peck says. “That’s great advice for anyone who wants to support a patient. I need positive, healing strength around me, and that’s what my family and friends — and City of Hope — have offered me.”
Peck liked the sign so much she ordered dozens more to offer to patients who want that positive message around them. “I just want to get well and live my life, and that’s what I’m going to,” Peck says. “To my City of Hope family, please know you have my gratitude beyond words, my admiration for your wisdom, professionalism and compassion, and my deep and limitless appreciation and thanks.”
Ending Cancer Starts with Hope. To make an appointment at any of City of Hope’s Orange County locations, call 888-333-HOPE (4673).
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