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

Finding a Chink in the Armor...

Before I leave the topic of Traditional Pancreatic Cancer Treatment, I would love to share about a relatively new test that is beginning to gain traction in the Pancreatic Cancer World...

Molecular Tumor Profiling

This test helps determine which chemo and/or treatment will work best at targeting your specific cancer cells.

So, what exactly is Tumor Molecular Profiling???

Every cancer cell has its own pattern of active genes and proteins. Molecular profiling tests for a variety of biomarkers in the DNA of a tissue sample to help better diagnose, stage and treat cancer on an individualized basis.

Not every oncologist offers this type of testing and individualized treatment, but it may be a test worth investigating.  By choosing more effective drugs for your pancreatic cancer treatment, it may be possible to avoid unnecessary toxicity and to target the cancer cells as aggressively as possible from the start.

One example of tumor molecular profiling is the HER1 or the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor.

HER1(also called EGFR) is the protein found on the surface of some cells and to which epidermal growth factor binds, causing the cells to divide. It is found at abnormally high levels on the surface of many types of cancer cells, so these cells may divide excessively in the presence of epidermal growth factor.

Using chemotherapy drugs and other treatments specifically tailored to lower the presence of EGFR in these patients should (in theory) make a significant and positive impact on their prognosis.

In Plain-Jane speak this tumor molecular profiling is a way to find the chink in pancreatic cancer's armor and take advantage of that weakness to stomp the cancer right on out.

As I said, this newer test is not widely available yet, but I did notice that the Cancer Center Treatments of America are beginning to use this test in mapping out an individualized treatment plan for their pancreatic cancer patients.

Praying that other oncology teams will soon begin to follow suit...

The sooner we can identify pancreatic cancer's weaknesses, the sooner we can begin a successful fight for a cure.

Journeying on in Hope, Always,
                                               Jane