Tag Archive for: tumor storage

Living in Fear … Here is my Plan Should My Cancer Recur

Six years ago I went for my first mammogram. I was 40 and thought nothing more about it other than the obligatory 40 year marker of due diligence. In my mind, cancer didn’t run in my family, so this is just the beginning of my routine mammogram journey.  Imagine the shock when I was called back for more imaging the next day and then told to take a seat in the waiting room for what seemed like forever.  Shock turned to fear, as I sat listening to the radiologist tell me that I most likely had breast cancer and needed to see a surgeon right away.

The surgeon ordered a stereotactic biopsy which uses mammographic X-rays to locate and target the area of concern and to help guide the biopsy needle to a precise location. After the sample was collected, it was sent to a pathology lab to determine if there were cancer cells present. The 2 days of waiting for the results seemed like an eternity. The “what-if” was real. I had breast cancer.

Everything moved quickly from that point. Early detection was key to my plan that included a lumpectomy followed by 7 weeks of radiation. I opted for the earliest possible date for surgery and 2 weeks later it was done. Everything went by so fast that even to this day, I really don’t remember how I actually felt at the time because I was so focused on getting it done and moving forward.

Moving forward does include a new “what-if” that weighs on the minds of people in remission. What if my breast cancer returns? All the genetic testing I did showed little chance of recurrence, but still…what would I do this time?

What is My Plan if My Cancer Recurs?

I’ve done my share of diligent research on standard cancer care and cutting-edge cancer therapies. Much of the findings have me saying to myself “I wish I had known about this 6 years ago” and I talk with many other cancer patients saying this too. Through my discoveries, I took a profound interest in tumor storage. As a breast cancer survivor and patient advocate, my plan includes a more personalized approach to my cancer treatment.

First, I will store my cancer cells alive so that I can test various drugs on these cells and prioritize which ones (or combinations of) actually works (look up organoids), I can enroll in one of the cellular immunotherapy trials that activate the immune system to fight the cancer and minimize the chance of relapse (look up dendritic cell vaccines or T-cell therapy), and I can also genetically profile my tumor to identify targeted drugs and/or clinical trials to enroll in. I will have StoreMyTumor (www.storemytumor.com) handle the tumor preservation so that this will be an option for me tomorrow or in years to come. In my work, I see many advanced cancer patients have doors open for them that would not exist without their own preserved cancer cells available for testing different treatment options.

Personalized treatments start with the cancer cells, and I will lean on StoreMyTumor to be my resource for emerging personalized treatment options and trials all around the world. Every tumor is unique and contains information critical to treatment, but tumors are not preserved alive by hospitals and routinely discarded as medical waste.

Why are more patients requesting that their tumors be stored?

Cancer patients achieve a new level of control of their cancer management through their own Personalized Tumor Intelligence. I see this all the time as a Patient Support Coordinator interacting with cancer patients at all different stages. With the rapid pace of emerging new therapies, there is no reason to settle for the standard of care when there are better and more personalized options available. You just need to find them and be your own advocate to save your life.