A Request for Named Memorial Fund

Wendy and her family asked us if we could establish a research fund in her name that her friends and loved ones could donate to. And to get it up and running quickly, while she is still able to feel as if she’s making a difference in the trajectory of research for Mucinous ovarian cancer. With the launch of the Wendy Tam MOC Research Fund, we’ve accomplished that.

You can use the “Donate” button at the end of this page to make a gift. Please add a comment that your gift is for the research fund. We also hope you’ll take a few minutes to read Wendy’s story from the beginning. It’s told through the eyes of her devoted sister, Annie.

Wendy Tam’s Story

as told by her older sister, Annie 

Those who know Wendy describe her as bright and radiant — someone who lights up every room with her smile, humor, and energy. She is thoughtful, genuine, and endlessly caring, with a way of making everyone around her feel comfortable, seen, and loved. Wherever she goes, Wendy brings spontaneity, curiosity, and warmth, reminding all of us to live fully and love deeply.

In 2022, Wendy graduated from the University of California, San Diego. At the peak of her life, she had just completed a summer internship at Genentech and was stepping into a full-time role at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Wendy was incredibly driven, diligent, well-spoken, and well-loved. Beyond being a beloved daughter, sister, niece, and cousin, she served as President of her business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi.

Wendy was always surrounded by friends or family. She loved to explore the world, and in 2023 traveled to Italy with our family and to Korea with her closest friends. We had no way of knowing that everything was about to change.

The Diagnosis and Journey

Wendy had always felt a bit bloated after meals and assumed it was normal. Months before her trips, she began experiencing persistent itchiness in her vulvar area, which prompted her to see an OB-GYN in July 2023. During that visit, the doctor noticed that Wendy’s abdomen seemed abnormally enlarged for someone only 23 years old.

Tests, scans, and ultrasounds revealed a 20 cm mass on her left ovary. Our family was stunned and terrified. Multiple surgeons reassured us that it was likely benign — with only a 3% chance of cancer. Based on that guidance, we decided to proceed with a laparoscopic surgery just five weeks after the mass was discovered.

The surgery went smoothly. The cyst, astonishingly the size of a basketball, was removed. Wendy’s recovery was quick, and we believed the worst was behind us — until September 15, 2023, when Wendy received a call that changed everything. The pathology came back malignant. At just 23, she was diagnosed with Stage 2C mucinous adenocarcinoma.

At the time, we had no idea how rare Mucinous ovarian cancer is, nor how poorly it responds to conventional treatment.

Following her oncology team’s recommendation, Wendy began six rounds of Carboplatin and Taxol, the standard frontline chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Though the protocol was harsh, Wendy endured it with grace, humor, and remarkable strength. She rang the bell at the end of treatment, and her tumor markers returned to normal. For a moment, we breathed again.

A Brief Return to Normal Life

After chemo, Wendy felt inspired to help others and decided to change careers, returning to school to study nutrition. She embraced a healthy lifestyle — waking up early, sleeping early, and even taking up running. Just five months after finishing chemo, she completed a 10K in the San Francisco Marathon. 

Wendy lived the way a woman in her early twenties should: hopeful, active, and determined to move forward.

But only nine months after chemo ended, everything changed again.

The Recurrence

Wendy began experiencing severe lower back pain. We rushed her to the emergency room, where scans revealed that her ureter had become twisted, causing hydronephrosis — a dangerous backup of urine into the kidney. Further imaging showed what we feared most: the cancer had returned.

Her oncologist urged us to consider the most aggressive treatment available, given Wendy’s young age: HIPEC (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy), often called “the mother of all surgeries.” It involves opening the abdomen, removing all visible cancer, and bathing the organs in heated chemotherapy for several hours.

HIPEC is not an option for everyone, but Wendy qualified. After speaking with the only other Mucinous ovarian cancer survivor we could find in California who had undergone HIPEC, we made the difficult choice to proceed. We found an exceptional surgeon at Stanford who agreed to perform the operation.

Wendy faced HIPEC with extraordinary courage. She recovered faster than expected because she pushed herself through every physical therapy session with determination. But despite removing all visible cancer during surgery, it returned only a few months later.

The Final Stage of the Fight

The recurrence spread quickly. Wendy began experiencing intense pain in her right leg due to tumor involvement, eventually becoming bedridden less than six months after the HIPEC surgery. She tried Enhertu because her tumor was HER2 equivocal, but it did not work for her. She also tried a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy found through a clinical trial approach (Avastin + Keytruda + Cyclophosphamide), but this too was ineffective.

Wendy’s cancer was not only rare — it was high-grade and extremely aggressive, which is unusual for Mucinous ovarian cancer. Her tumor carried KRAS (G12D) and TP53 mutations, a combination associated with the poorest survival outcomes in Mucinous disease.

Despite all this, Wendy remained entirely sound-minded — sharp, witty, loving, and fully herself. But the medical system had no more options left for her. She entered hospice in October 2025.

Throughout her journey, Wendy documented her experiences in hopes of raising awareness and helping others learn from what she endured. You can view her journal on Instagram at @wendys_cancer_journey.

Donate to the Wendy Tam MOC Research Fund

We invite you to click the Donate button below to make a gift through our safe online platform. Contributions of any amount are welcome and appreciated. Wendy and her family will be notified of every donation.