Know Your Tumor

Today I spoke with the sweetest thing... her name was Danielle.

She is a Patient Central Associate for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  She is smart, and compassionate and so encouraging.  She gave me hope.

Hope for the future.  Especially for the Pancreatic Cancer fighters.   Each one.  The families that are aching for some good news.  The patients who are struggling with a hopeless diagnosis and a nightmare of limited treatments.

Danielle told me about an exciting program that the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is now offering called Know Your Tumor.

This service goes to the heart of what makes your pancreatic cancer tumor tick.

As Danielle explained, each tumor displays a personal signature of sorts, a biology that makes it unique.  With the Know Your Tumor protocol, the tumor is biopsied and profiled. Then their oncology team can make educated suggestions for treatment based on your tumor's profile... more precise, more personal, more positive.

Know Your Tumor is precision medicine and it is hope.

I can't encourage you enough to give the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network a call...

That call... it doesn't cost you a thing... and it just might give you the encouragement to take the next step in your journey, turning the fear and confusion into a fight with purpose and strength.  

Hope does that!

The Know Your Tumor service isn't a perfect match for everyone, but the thing is, the Patient Central Associates will take time to visit with you, find out where you are on your cancer journey and give you a range of options, which may include the tumor profiling or one of many other clinical trials.

Xan Harwood-Karlik has been where you are.  

He was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer in 2014.  Participating in the Know Your Tumor program gave his medical team the information they needed to make crucial treatment decisions.  Read his story over at the PanCan website and be encouraged!

Donna Robinson also has an incredible story... Her message for every pancreatic cancer fighter is "after diagnosis, be bold and be your own advocate." 

Thanks in part to the Know Your Tumor profiling, doctors were able to recommend treatments that shrunk Donna's tumor by 70%.  Her story is one of great Hope for every one of us in the trenches with this horrendous disease.

Know Your Tumor.  Another weapon in the war against Pancreatic Cancer.

It is Hope.  And in this fight, we need all the Hope we can grab hold of...

No one should face pancreatic cancer alone.  The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network gets that.  And is ready for your call, no matter how desperate, no matter how despairing... what are you waiting for?  Give them a call!

If you talk to Danielle, tell her I said Hi!

There is Hope... I can feel it rising up today!

My Love, Always,

              Jane

Personalized Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

What if someone could tell you exactly how to zap your cancer?

 

What if your doctor could plan your treatment protocol with confidence?

 

What if scientists could map your tumor and tell you the best battle plan to destroy the beast?

 

 

 

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is unveiling a new service for Pancreatic Cancer Patients.  It's called Know Your Tumor...

It's cutting edge science and holds much promise for Pancreatic Cancer patients world wide. 

Simply put, doctors can now determine the biology of specific tumors through biopsies and detail a personalized treatment plan for your individual cancer.

When mom was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her doctor went to default mode and automatically set her on the traditional pancreatic cancer treatment... Gemzar Chemotherapy.

Never mind that this protocol had not changed much in the past 30 years... and was still only marginally successful.  Gemzar was the Gold Standard treatment for pancreatic cancer.  And in many doctor offices, it is still considered the Gold Standard... even though so many clinical trials and alternative protocols are showing promise. With Gemzar's low success rate, perhaps it's time to find another Gold Standard... Yes?! 

And maybe we can start by dissecting the pancreatic cancer tumor and finding out just what makes it run...so we can stop it in its tracks.

So, exactly what is this Know Your Tumor strategy? 

It is a way to test your tumor, often called molecular profiling, to find out what treatments and/or medicines will be more effective in destroying it.

The molecular profiling is done by a company called Perthera.  They describe the process on their website:

Every patient is different, and not everyone responds to the same treatment. Perthera’s job is to determine which therapies will work best specifically for your cancer, through a coordinated service designed to help you gain maximum benefit.

 

We begin the process with a biopsy where we have developed innovative ways to handle fresh tissue samples. We maintain total control over the tissue gathering process at the time of biopsy and beyond, to ensure that the fresh tissue is gathered properly. 

 

We send samples to the best diagnostic partners, each with tests that have been proven to improve the success rates of patients. Together, these tests represent the most comprehensive analysis of genomic and protein information that you can get anywhere in the world.

 

We have assembled a panel of distinguished medical professionals, each with expertise in a specific type of cancer, to constantly search for and evaluate the best available testing technologies and the latest drugs, trials and research, so they can become part of our proprietary Expert System Database (ESD).

 

We use the ESD to combine the molecular analysis of a patient's tumor with their medical history and the latest treatment options available to create a report of personalized treatment recommendations, and our panel of medical experts reviews the report and its recommendations.

 

We serve as an advocate for each patient by intently listening to their needs, constantly following up concerning milestones in the process and responding to patient inquiries within 24 hours. We also track the latest molecularly-targeted drugs and drug trials and advocate for your participation.

 

This service is available for patients who meet their criteria:

 

1.  Have stage 4 (metastatic) pancreatic adenocarcinoma cancer (this means the cancer has spread beyond the pancreas)

2.  Have already started or will soon be starting treatment for metastatic cancer.

 

Know Your Tumor is another avenue or tool for pancreatic cancer patients to explore.  Targeted cancer therapy designed for your individual cancer tumor.

 

It is not foolproof... understand that there are still so few chemotherapies to choose from in the fight against pancreatic cancer... but the molecular profiling might show promising clinical trials that target your tumor cells... We fight the fight anyway we can... 

 

As always, talk with your oncology team.  Molecular Profiling is not on everyone's radar... Perhaps it's time to kick this fight up another notch!  Working together to find Hope in the Fight...

 

In Grace, Jane