Advanced Genomic Testing Extends Lives Like Megan's
In partnership with CARIS Life Sciences, CARE is saving and extending lives like Megan Beauchesne’s through the use of advanced genomic testing. Advanced genomic testing is a key in helping to unravel the mystery of tumor composition which grows and changes over the course of the disease. Access to this critical data is especially important for CARE’s triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, including Megan.
During a self-exam in January of 2020, Megan noticed a small lump in her breast. She went to her doctor and while she was brushed off, Megan knew something was wrong and insisted on an ultrasound. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer at just 33 years old. TNBC is a rare and especially aggressive cancer which disproportionately affects younger, premenopausal women. Unlike breast cancers which can be attacked through hormone therapy, TNBC does not have major molecular markers and cannot be treated using conventional therapies.
Megan was quickly referred to Dr. Sibel Blau, a member of CARE’s team. Megan’s cancer was chemo resistant and growing at an alarming rate. Following chemo, radiation, a one-sided mastectomy and removal of 75% of her pectoral muscle, Megan learned that the cancer had spread to her lungs. With options dwindling, Megan’s only hope for more time with her husband, 6-year-old son, and 4-year-old daughter were alternative therapies.
Megan is now enrolled in CARE’s All4Cure TNBC trial. This trial could be the key to giving Megan the ultimate gift—more time her family. Through genomic and molecular testing of Megan’s tumor, researchers can help identify potential targeted therapies that inhibit specific molecules—usually molecules that are hyperactivated in cancers and which cancer cells rely on for growth more than normal cells. The results are reviewed by a Molecular Tumor Board comprised of oncologists, pathologists, and research scientists from around the country. Their recommendations for potential targeted therapies are provided to the patient and her oncologist. Frequently this provides multiple future treatment options where traditionally there would have been none. Without the partnership between CARE and CARIS, multiple rounds of genomic testing which occur through the course of the disease may reach up to $100,000.
It is not uncommon for a patient like Megan on the All4Cure trial to undergo multiple genomic tests with tumor board recommendations. In one case, a patient has navigated 8 lines of treatment where on the onset of her disease she had no conventional treatment options.
Megan shared the following about why cancer research is so important to her. “I did not know anything about cancer prior to cancer. I heard things like my sister or my cousin had breast cancer and she beat it and she’s just fine. Those were the stories I heard. But now after living it and meeting so many women and seeing how many people it touches, I don’t want anyone to go through this ever. If I can help in anyway—even if it’s not for me, if it’s too late for me—if I can help make sure that one other person doesn’t have to live through this, I will do anything. I have a daughter. I would never want her to have to go through this.”
By bringing some the best and brightest cancer minds in the country together to share experience and ideas, the South Sound CARE Foundation is providing TNBC patients on the study with options and expertise found nowhere else.