Tracy was first diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 1993 at the age of 29, when she was 18 weeks pregnant. Her treatment marked the first time a woman in Vermont had undergone chemotherapy while pregnant. Twenty-five years later, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer – and then again, in August of 2023, she was diagnosed with breast cancer with lymph node involvement.
When I was treated for cancer in 2023, I received biomarker testing. This new technology allowed me to avoid expensive and physically taxing rounds of chemotherapy. When I first had cancer in 1993, this wasn’t possible. We must continue to invest in research so more advancements can be made.
She knew the potential impact of cancer and cancer treatment, as she copes with long-term side effects from undergoing 11 months of chemotherapy to treat her first occurrence of cancer in 1993.
But this time, things were different. After surgically removing the tumor, Tracy’s oncologist ordered biomarker testing on her cancer cells. The biomarker testing results indicated that the tumor was not aggressive, and chemotherapy would not be necessary. Tracy was relieved that this new technology allowed her to avoid expensive and physically taxing rounds of chemotherapy. She and her oncologist knew that without biomarker testing, she would have undergone chemotherapy that would not have a meaningful benefit on her cancer. These advances in cancer treatment are due to the continued investment in research. Tracy has seen the benefit and knows we need to keep investing so more people can benefit.