Judy's Cancer Journey - Sarah Cannon

(uplifting music) - My original diagnosis was breast cancer, Stage 2B. In February of 2003, I had surgery with reconstruction and chemotherapy. And I was cancer-free for 10 years in remission and had a recurrence in December of 2012. I used to think that being told that you had cancer was one of the worst things you could hear, but in reality for me the worst thing was "your cancer's back". And you know when it comes back we can't cure it. And that's what brought me to Sarah Cannon for our clinical trial. The goal of this clinical trial drug is targeted therapy for the specific breast cancer that I have. It's not a curative treatment, but the purpose behind it is to stop the progression and hopefully have remission for as long as the drug works. I started the clinical trial in June of last year. When I started the clinical trial, I was having severe pain. I was taking narcotic pain medication every day, sleeping on a heating pad every night. Since I've started the clinical trial drug, I've taken zero pain medicine and have felt very good. They're very supportive. They're very informative. They answer every question that you have. They're very concerned about your quality of life. They're very good at communicating and on keeping me informed. Since my original diagnosis of cancer in 2003, I have only called out sick one time. So cancer has not controlled my life. Medications have not controlled my life. I control my life. I have not let cancer bring me down. It is part of my life, but I've learned to live with it and to do more in spite of it. So the clinical trial has really given me more hope because it is controlling my cancer. And it makes me thankful for every single day. It makes me thankful for all the people in my life, friends and family. And every day, I try to let at least one person know how important they are to me. (uplifting music) (sarahcannon.com)

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