Cancerwise

A good friend and breast cancer survivor once told me, “If you ever get diagnosed with cancer, go straight to UT MD Anderson.” So, when my husband, Brian, was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in October 2018, that’s exactly what we did.

The cancer on Brian’s scalp was so scary and deep that his Austin doctor didn’t know anyone local who could treat it. But after having surgery at UT MD Anderson, followed by two weeks of radiation therapy and a year of immunotherapy, Brian was declared cancer-free. He’s been that way ever since.

Thanks to UT MD Anderson, Brian went from having something potentially terminal to having something curable. That’s why we feel it’s our calling now to spread the word about this incredible institution and support its research programs.

Here are three more reasons we support UT MD Anderson.

I personally benefited from a Phase 2 clinical trial

I was on the last day of a bicycling trip in September when I felt a sudden, stabbing pain in my right breast. A biopsy showed the painful lump I found there was actually stage 2, high-grade, triple-positive breast cancer.

I was stunned. I get annual mammograms, lead a very healthy lifestyle and have no known risk factors.

My breast medical oncologist, Dr. Adaeze Nwosu Iheme, said that sometimes, cancer just happens, despite our best efforts to prevent it.

But UT MD Anderson still came through for us.

After conducting additional tests, Iheme and the rest of my care team — including breast surgical oncologist Dr. Taiwo Adesoye and breast radiation oncologist Dr. Melissa Mitchell — recommended a Phase 2 clinical trial with a novel HER2 targeted therapy drug in combination with endocrine therapy. It involved a new bispecific antibody called zanidatamab that was already being used successfully to treat HER2+ metastatic breast cancer, bile duct cancer and other gastric cancers. The preliminary results of the Phase 2 clinical trial were promising. So, I agreed to take part.

It turned out to be an amazing experience. I got treated like a rock star. But the best thing about the clinical trial was that the new drug actually worked for me.

I had scans not long after my second infusion, and even the ultrasound technician said, “Oh, wow. You’re having a really good reaction to this.”

Breast medical oncologist Dr. Vicente Valero, who was leading the clinical trial, agreed. He called it “a very robust response.”

And, I could tell it was true. The lump went from something I could feel quite easily to something I could barely feel at all. Eventually, it became undetectable.

By the time I finished the clinical trial, my breast was totally clear, so I could have a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy. The pathology report showed I’d had a complete pathological response. There was no evidence of residual cancer in my breast or lymph nodes.

I was elated.