I then received another type of immunotherapy, a PD1 inhibitor, to release brakes on this army of immune cells. I received an infusion of a type of immunotherapy called interleukin-2 (IL-2) to build a more powerful army of cancer-fighting immune cells. Twelve weeks after my diagnosis with metastatic disease, I entered the trial.
SPINE2D SAVE PROGRESS IN TRIAL TRIAL
He told me that he did not have a trial at that time but that I should consider trying to enroll in a new combination immunotherapy trial that he knew would open soon. So I started calling researchers and clinical teams running immunotherapy clinical trials that I found on .Įventually, one of the researchers returned my call. Genomic testing showed that my cancer had an elevated number of mutations, which is unusual for breast cancer but made me a candidate for immunotherapy. When my original oncologist dismissed these ideas and suggested the standard treatment that she used for all her patients, I transferred my care to the other oncologist. She also suggested genomic testing of my cancer to help determine what treatment would be most effective for me. She suggested that immunotherapy might be a good treatment option for me because it might help boost the cancer-fighting power of those immune cells. I also sought a second opinion from another oncologist who told me that tests showed that there were a lot of immune cells in my tumors. I scoured the Internet and read everything that I could about the latest research on triple-negative breast cancer and the latest clinical trials testing cutting-edge treatments for the disease.
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I decided that this time I had to become more educated and make informed decisions based on facts and science. I realized that when I had first been diagnosed with breast cancer, I had simply accepted the advice of my oncologist. Worse still, it had spread to my lungs, ribs, spine, and pelvis. In April 2017, a CT scan showed that the cancer had returned. The chemotherapy made me extremely sick, but after it was over I was able to return to my normal life. I had a double mastectomy and then four rounds of an aggressive chemotherapy regimen. As a survivor of childhood cancer, I was confident that I would be able to beat this diagnosis, and I postponed surgery until after my birthday.
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The diagnosis was made just weeks before my 50th birthday. It was after one of my mammograms that I was diagnosed with stage I triple-negative breast cancer.
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Because of this, regular breast cancer screening was a deeply ingrained part of my health care routine. I myself am a survivor of childhood cancer, I had a sibling who passed away from Wilms’ tumor at 18 months, my uncle passed away from colorectal cancer at 48, and my grandmother passed away from breast and ovarian cancer at 44. By sharing my story, I hope to inspire other African American women to become educated about their health care and to get involved in cancer research and clinical trials.Ĭancer runs in my family. Self-advocacy saved my life because there is currently no evidence of cancer in my body. This knowledge empowered me to seek out a new clinical trial for immunotherapy, rather than accept standard treatment. That’s when I set to work educating myself about the latest research into the disease and its treatments. Just over two years later, the cancer returned this time it was stage IV. I was diagnosed with stage I triple-negative breast cancer in January 2015.