Meet Kathy Jordan Breast Cancer Survivor

my tumor grew in size after my second chemotherapy treatment of “AC”, adriomycin and cyclotaxin; one part of the standard ACT (T for taxol) chemo treatment. ACT is given to many breast cancer patients in relatively good health who can withstand these patently toxic chemotherapy drugs.

For my triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), chemotherapy was given first (called neo-adjuvant) in part because of the size and location of the tumor, and then surgery and radiation followed. For most breast cancer patients surgery is first followed by chemotherapy and radiation. One of the nasty features of TNBC is that it creates its own lymph nework system to survive (think of a network of weeds in a garden). Before you can remove that big monster weed (i.e., tumor) you must first put down week killer (treat the entire system with chemotherapy), and the doctors also needed to shrink my tumor before surgery was feasible. Well, my ‘weed’ had figured out the ‘weed killer’, and continued to grow.

That’s when my team grew, and my Team Captain communicated with his mentor to find a new game plan. I was fortunate one was available: a new study based on a clinical trial was a bout to be published which showed that an older chemotherapy, carboplatin, delivered in sequences with taxol, was showing promising results for women with TNBC (when ACT was not effective). I switched to the new treatment and it worked for a while, which was my first real good medical news so far. My tumor shrunk by about half, so that I could go into surgery and then radiation treatment.

several tests to qualify, but in early 2015 I started a clinical trial testing out the efficacy of immunotherapy drug, Tecentriq (atezolizumab), under the care of Dr. Karen Tedesco, who was lead investigator of the study at New York Oncology Hematology. The study was looking at its effectiveness of attacking and reducing the spread of all types of cancer; lung, bladder, skin and breast cancer in those patients with metastatic cancer who had completed traditional lines of care (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation) and whose cancer had returned either to the lymphatic system, or to organs (lungs, liver, bone, etc.). After my fourth dose of the immunotherapy drug, my x-ray scans showed my largest cancerous lymph node had shrunk in half and most importantly there was not indication of the spread of disease elsewhere in my body.

Going for treatment every 3 weeks to receive this experimental drug by IV became part of my normal routine. I was so thankful it was having a sustained positive effect with real but manageable side effects. For me, the atezolizumab shut down my thyroid and caused hypothyroidism – a condition which was difficult to deal with until it was diagnosed and treated with a common drug called synthroid.

I soon came to appreciate that I was a beneficiary of those who had come before me and who had participated in earlier clinical trials to identify the best immunotherapy drugs and the safest dosing to focus in on the best treatment options for cancer patients. I also came to realize I too would help the community of metastatic cancer patients looking for effective alternatives to treat their cancer.

At my post-surgery check up, unfortunately, my Team Captain had bad news – while the tumor removal was successful, there had also been a need to remove a lot (25) of lymph nodes in my armpit region and more than half (13) had tested positive for cancer. We knew that the cancer had spread from my tumor to the lymphatic system but had no idea it was so extensive in the lymph nodes. The lymphatic system is a network of vessels filled with fluid that act as a filter in your body. The test results meant that the cancer had aggressively entered my lymphatic system, and indicated a high probability (about 90 %) that it would recur, most likely fairly soon due to the nature of my cancer.

It returned a week before Christmas about 7 months after I had finished radiation treatments. I felt a growth in my neck and a biopsy showed it was cancer in a lymph node – a scan showed that I had two or three other lymph notes infected as well. All of that news to be shared with my daughters and family was one of the most difficult messages to deliver. I believed that I probably had no real treatment options left. At this time, my family and I started to see a counselor skilled in helping people through the challenges of cancer which was so beneficial that I continue seeing him (Mr. Edward Dick) to this day.

I participated in the Phase II/III clinical trial for 3 years and then received the drug for an additional year after that. What I would want those considering participating in a clinical trial to know is that it is a commitment of time and energy, as regular data (testing) on your body and your cancer is needed to build understanding of efficacy and side effects to improve the treatment options for future patients. The good news is that the team of doctors and nurses providing your care are highly committed too. Probably one of the more tedious things to do is the ‘sitting’. What I mean by that is the sitting in the treatment room you do to receive the IV drugs and to gather temperature, blood pressure, blood chemistry, and all the other data needed for the clinical trial. The treatment rooms are varied places in which the group you ‘sit’ with changes each time you go. Some days are quiet and uneventful, and other days you witness more personal struggles around you, as sadly not all patients are doing well.

More recently, I have changed to a new clinical trial led by Dr. Beth Overmoyer at Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston. The treatment is helping me thus far and I am continuing my long, challenging, but so far successful fight against cancer. I will have my sixth ‘anniversary’ in September 2019, and have been able to attend so many special events such as two high school graduations for our daughters. I am grateful for my team, my extended family and friends, and for the science that has gone into drug development and clinical trials. I hope that my struggle not only aids my life, but can help others too.

Some background info on Tecentriq and the trial.

Separately, we reviewed the article and wanted to clarify one point. The article states Impassion130, the pivotal trial that led to the FDA approval of Tecentriq, was looking at Tecentriq’s “effectiveness at attacking and reducing the spread of all types of cancer; lung, bladder, skin and breast cancer in those patients…” The trial was not designed to examine the spread of all these types of cancer and was studied in metastatic TNBC only. Instead, it would be more accurate to say: The study was looking at its ability to reduce the risk of the disease worsening or death in people with metastatic, meaning the cancer has spread outside the breast to distant parts of the body, triple-negative breast cancer. Want to ensure this information is accurate for your readers.

• Tecentriq(atezolizumab) is animmunotherapy, atypeofdrugthatharnesses apatient’s immunesystemto fight cancer, andanimportanttreatmentadvancefortriple-negativebreastcancer(TNBC). It’s importantbecauseforthepast two decades, TNBC has seen limited treatment options beyond chemotherapy. Immunotherapy is the story of the decade in cancer therapy, and yet, breast cancer has shown little response to this new class of medicine – until now.

• InMarch2019theFDAgrantedacceleratedapprovaltothefirstcancerimmunotherapyregimenforbreastcancer (atezolizumabpluschemotherapyforthetreatmentofadultswithunresectablelocallyadvancedormetastatictriple-negative breastcancerinpeoplewhosetumorsexpressPD-L1,asdeterminedbyanFDA-approvedtest).

The article states Impassion130, the pivotal trial that led to the FDA approval of Tecentriq, was looking at Tecentriq’s “effectiveness at attacking and reducing the spread of all types of cancer; lung, bladder, skin and breast cancer in those patients…” The trial was not designed to examine the spread of all these types of cancer and was studied in metastatic TNBC only. Instead, it would be more accurate to say: The study was looking at its ability to reduce the risk of the disease worsening or death in people with metastatic, meaning the cancer has spread outside the breast to distant parts of the body, triple-negative breast cancer. Want to ensure this information is accurate for your readers.