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Intro: She was young, had a great job, a strong marriage and a wonderful new baby girl. Then the woman you're about to meet got a diagnosis that changed her life. Breast cancer. In addition to standard treatment - surgery and chemotherapy - she also enrolled in a Mayo Clinic study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study looked at whether a specific medication would prevent recurrence of the disease. Now many researchers are calling the drug a revolution in the fight against breast cancer.
| Video | Audio |
| Total running time 1:31 | "WHAT ARE YOU MAKING, JUST A PICTURE?" |
| EVERY MOMENT SPENT COLORING WITH HER DAUGHTER KAIA IS A GIFT TO KRISTIE NAINES. | |
| Kristie Naines | "CAUSE I WAS DIAGNOSED WHEN SHE WAS SO LITTLE." |
| DOCTORS TOLD KRISTIE SHE HAD CANCER WHEN KAIA WAS JUST A BABY. | |
| Kristie Naines | "IT HAD SPREAD TO 18 LYMPH NODES AT THAT POINT." |
Standup Vivien Williams Reporting To animation |
KRISTIE DID NOT WANT HER DAUGHTER TO GROW UP WITHOUT A MOMMY, SO SHE WAS PROACTIVE ABOUT TREATMENT. SHE HAD BOTH BREAST REMOVED, THEN CHEMOTHERAPY. SHE ALSO ENROLLED IN A MAYO CLINIC STUDY RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE. THE STUDY TESTED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DRUG CALLED HERCEPTIN. YOU SEE, 20 TO 30 PERCENT OF ALL BREAST CANCER TUMORS PRODUCE A PROTEIN CALLED HER-2. THE PROTEIN MAKES TUMORS GROW FAST AND MAKES THEM MORE LIKELY TO REOCCUR. THE TRIAL FOUND THAT THE DRUG HERCEPTIN, WHEN GIVEN IN CONJUCTION WITH CHEMOTHERAPY, TARGETS THESE TUMORS AND REDUCES THE RISK OF THE CANCER COMING BACK BY 52-PERCENT. |
Edith Perez, M.D. Mayo Clinic Oncologist |
"THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE RESULTS HAVE CHANGED THE STANDARD OF CARE, NOT ONLY FOR WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATED BUT ALSO WORLD WIDE. IT'S BEEN REALLY GRATIFYING TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY THAT CAN AFFECT THE LIVES OF SO MANY WOMEN." |
| EDITH PEREZ LED THE STUDY THAT'S GIVING PEOPLE LIKE KRISTIE HOPE. | |
| Kristie Naines | "I WAS REALLY HOPING THAT I'D GET TO SEE MY DAUGHTER GO TO KINDERGARTEN. NOW I KNOW I'LL GET TO SEE HER GROW UP." |
| "L-O-V-E." WHO'S THAT FOR? | |
| EVERY MOMENT IS PRECIOUS. | |
| FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS. |
Tag: In addition to the Herceptin study, Dr. Perez is also interested in researching why one patient responds to treatment and others don't. And although there have been many successes in the fight against breast cancer, Dr. Perez says much more research must be done to stop the disease. For more information, log onto our Web site at ...
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