In 2021, Teri was living an active, healthy life, juggling CrossFit workouts and her busy family schedule. When a cough refused to go away, she saw a pulmonologist who diagnosed her with asthma. The inhaler she was given did nothing, and it was only after a determined nurse pushed for a CT scan that the truth was revealed. Teri had metastatic stage four lung cancer.
Cancer research plays a significant role in enhancing the survival rates of cancer patients, thereby alleviating the burdens our community faces, such as the loss of loved ones due to cancer.
Further testing confirmed the diagnosis. The standard next step would have been chemotherapy, but biomarker testing revealed a genetic mutation that qualified her for targeted medication. She started treatment, tolerated it well, and a little over a year later, her cancer was gone.
This time has meant everything to Teri. She’s traveled with her family, hiked new trails, and watched her daughter’s soccer games from the sidelines. She knows biomarker testing, a direct result of years of cancer research, gave her the chance to make these memories. She is determined to speak out so that research continues to advance and that more people can have access to the same life-saving opportunity.