Breast cancer patient Cassandra was shocked after receiving her breast cancer diagnosis. Watch as she shares her journey through diagnosis, treatment, her decision to join a clinical trial, and clinical trial support that she received.
Breast cancer patient Cassandra was shocked after receiving her breast cancer diagnosis. Watch as she shares her breast cancer patient journey from diagnosis through treatment–and her experience before joining a clinical trial and the support she received during the trial. In Cassandra’s words, “Once I connected with Lazarex, I could breathe. They made me feel I mattered. Every person I spoke to at Lazarex was kind-hearted, and it impacted my mental psyche.”
Transcript:
I knew about the lump in my left breast, but it was benign. So when doctors told me I had breast cancer, I was shocked. The cancer was aggressive. I had a lumpectomy, then partial radiation treatment. My doctor later suggested a clinical trial. I was skeptical at first and had a lot of questions. Is this something that is going to harm me or help me? How can I trust this process? I wanted to do a study that was beneficial to MY body with the potential to advance research. I decided to move forward with the clinical trial. I filled out the paperwork concerning treatment and voiced my opinion–that was very important to me.
I was soon faced with another dilemma. Traveling eight hours round trip twice a month was a deal breaker. The financial burden felt like a second cancer. I began searching online for resources and discovered Lazarex Cancer Foundation could help me. I certainly wasn’t happy about getting cancer, but being reimbursed for gas, parking and hotel expenses made an enormous difference and made the clinical trial an option for me. With some of the obstacles removed, it gave me time to think and reflect on my life instead of stressing about living my life. I was now able to focus solely on my health and be engaged in the clinical trial where investigators gather information to develop new medicines that may help me and the next person that has a breast cancer diagnosis
