Breast Cancer

With an infant son and a difficult-to-treat breast cancer, Sal Gregory decided she had to gather strength through her faith and positive attitude.

In March 2019, the FDA approved Tecentriq (atezolizumab), a PD-L1 inhibitor, in combination with Abraxane (paclitaxel protein-bound), for use in adults with locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors cannot be removed by surgery and express PD-L1, as identified by an FDA-approved test. This is the first FDA-approved immunotherapy for patients with advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Regina Groce, a young wife and mother, thought her life was everything it was supposed to be, until a devastating phone call after surgery to remove a lump in her breast revealed she was carrying the BRCA mutation.

Triple-negative breast cancer has few treatment options. Promising results from recent clinical trials of immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy in patients with metastatic disease may soon change the way this aggressive cancer is treated. Just after this article was written, the FDA approved this combination for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Hope Nemiroff’s inability to easily get answers to some of her questions during her breast cancer experience led her to establish Breast Cancer Options, which offers free services, education, and advocacy to patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer survivor and national expert Lillie D. Shockney invites patients with metastatic breast cancer and their caregivers to join one of the breast cancer retreats offered by Johns Hopkins University.

It’s important to understand the nuances of this test, along with your family history, so you can make an informed decision on when to begin testing and how frequently.