Fall 2009: Jake and Nancy learned that Nancy's breast cancer was stage four. Winter 2013: They are still fighting. This is a gathering place to follow their story, offer support, love and prayers... to be by their side.



Friday, September 24, 2010

FDA's decision on Avastin

Dear Friends and Family,

Some of you may have seen press coverage recently on using Avastin for metastatic breast cancer and you might recall that I was on Avastin from September through April with amazing results. Jake and I are quite concerned about the FDA's decision to disapprove the use Avastin for patients like me. The argument of the FDA is that Avastin doesn't show enough clinical benefit and it is extremely expensive.

Jake and I (and my oncologist) disagree with the notion that it doesn't show clinical benefit and we're fighting to sway the FDA. If you want to help, you can sign the petition located here. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/stop-the-fda-from-disproving-avastin-to-treat-metastatic-breast-cancer/

You can also email the FDA and encourage them to reconsider their decision.

margaret.hamburg@fda.hhs.gov
patricia.keegan@fda.hhs.gov
janet.woodcock@fda.hhs.gov
richard.pazdur@fda.hhs.gov

If you want to read more background on Avastin, here is a link to an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB40001424052748704271804575405203894857436.html

There's a lot of controversy about the clinical benefit, but I'm living proof that it is a powerful drug. Avastin seems to help certain patients, not all, but I think it is important to know it is improving the time between progressions for lots of patients (translation, it provides better quality of life even if it doesn't improve overall survival). It is extremely expensive (I think mine was about $24,000 per month), but chemo is expensive (Abraxane was something like $32,000 per month). It has potentially serious side effects, but so do all the other chemo drugs.

-Nancy

Monday, September 20, 2010

One year mark

It's been a while...here's a quick update and photo.

Hello again friends and family,
It has been exactly one year since we got the horrible news of my recurrence. We've adjusted to our new normal and all is well.

Thank you so much for all the support on my Mt. Adams climb. It was truly an amazing experience and an accomplishment cancer can never take away. I've learned over the past year that even though life isn't always fair, it is good. Jake and I are really happy and we continue to be so grateful for all of you.

My health continues to be stable. I'm having some aches and pains here and there, but who doesn't? I see Dr. Rinn on Thursday for my monthly Zometa treatment and I'm sure it is about time for another scan. I'll keep everyone posted if there is any news to report. Thanks again for your prayers and support! - Nancy