New Research, Special Event Give Hope To Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- New support for people who have metastatic breast cancer the most aggressive kind, that's often deadly. There's exciting new research here in Philadelphia and a special gathering coming up in September.
There is no cure for metastatic breast cancer, but the Wistar Institute is working on some important breakthroughs and Susan G. Komen Philadelphia is bringing together the metastatic community with a special event.
For patients like Debby Madiraca, who survived some unique challenges, blowing bubbles with her 3-year-old daughter Amelia is one of the simple joys she's grateful to have.
Three years ago when she was pregnant, she found a lump and after the baby was delivered scans revealed it was the worst kind of breast cancer: metastatic, stage 4.
"I just kept thinking I'm going to die … my daughters going to live only knowing her mother thru pictures and stories," Debby said.
But the story got better for Debby, who lives in South Jersey. She had ER+ and HER2 a type of metastatic breast cancer that responds to medications.
Now Debby is part of a special community that will come together for the Inaugural Metastatic Breast Cancer Symposium, sponsored by Susan G. Komen Philadelphia.
"I'm really excited, the metastatic community is growing rapidly which is bittersweet .. Everyone coming together, we all get to collaborate and bring together ideas, it gives us all strength," Debby says.
Some of the ideas will come from Frank Rauscher, Ph.D. the deputy director of the Wistar Institute Cancer Center.
He says, "We'd like to go directly to the source of circulating tumor cells." He's researching metastatic breast cancer, looking at proteins.
They're hoping to first identify markers that allow certain cancer cells to spread, to become metastatic.
"Second, we'd like to find out are any of those markers amenable to drugging, are they drug-able targets that we can say let's stop the migratory process let's stop its ability to invade other organs," Rauscher explains.
Sometimes it's deadly quickly, but not always - that's what makes the metastatic community so unique.
Debby says, "It's a great start to recognize that we are a separate group we are different … I'm a stage 4 survivor, to me that's incredible you know, not everyone gets to say that."
Debby is a volunteer for Komen, helping with the symposium that will take place at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on Saturday September 17th.
