 Though initially given only three to five years to live , by virtue of several new drug therapies and a bone marrow transplant in 2005 , she would beat the disease 's Stage 1 survival mean of 62 months by over a factor of two . Her advocacy helped make the new treatments approved and available for others as well . For much of the last decade of her life , Ferraro was not in remission , but the disease was managed by continually adjusting her treatments . 
