Ethan is a brain cancer patient who is thankful for a second chance at life due to biomarker testing and targeted therapy.
I’m just savoring this time, this second chance at life. None of this would be possible without investments in cancer research.
At age 23, Ethan was healthy and athletic. One day in October 2022, while driving to work, he began experiencing stroke-like symptoms. He immediately pulled over and was transported by an ambulance to the hospital, where they conducted a series of tests. The tests revealed a lacrosse ball-sized tumor in his brain. He had a successful surgery that removed about 90% of the tumor, but Ethan still had to deal with some intense side effects. He lost the ability to walk and feed himself, and he had to spend several weeks rehabilitating and learning how to live again.
Ethan then began radiation and oral chemotherapy. The chemo treatment made him very sick, and he lost a lot of weight. The chemo did not shrink his tumor, but kept it from growing. His quality of life was very poor under this treatment.
In the fall of 2021, his doctor ordered a biomarker test, which revealed the BRAF mutation. Soon after, doctors started him on the medication that targets the BRAF mutation. Ethan saw immediate results from this new targeted treatment. The tumor began to shrink, and his quality of life improved drastically. A small spot remains and is monitored regularly with MRIs. Ethan described the outcome of this new treatment as feeling like a human for the first time in over a year. Today, Ethan is still recovering and working to gain all of his strength back. He credits biomarker testing and targeted therapy for his recovery and improved quality of life.