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Judy’s Story

Thank you, Lazarex for giving me two years (and counting) of happiness, fun, family and love. You are truly a blessing!

Judy's Story

In 2014, on the day before my 69th birthday, my Arizona surgeon told me the results of my annual CT scans. My liposarcoma had recurred, and was inoperable and metastatic. I had shared my body with this very rare tumor since the original diagnosis in 2001.

The Arizona surgeon told me that the then current standard treatment involved a chemotherapy that was effective only 20-30% of the time. When I asked for a prognosis if the chemo failed, he told me, “Two years.”

My husband and I went to M. D. Anderson in Houston to find out about potential clinical trials. I was quickly enrolled in a Phase I targeted therapy trial that required traveling between Phoenix and Houston every three weeks. The costs of air fare and hotel reservations were overwhelming. Fortunately, my husband discovered the Lazarex Cancer Foundation.

judy frank fam

I applied for, and was accepted into, the program. Without Lazarex, I wouldn’t have been able to participate in this life-saving trial.

Initially, the tumor shrank, but it began to grow after 13 months. I was transferred to an immunotherapy trial in July 2015. So far, it has kept the disease stable. And Lazarex continues to assist me with costs.

Here I am, 30 months after I was given a two-year prognosis, alive, doing well, and feeling great. I live a normal life, except for trips to Houston.

Thank you, Lazarex for giving me two years (and counting) of happiness, fun, family and love. You are truly a blessing!