When looking for treatment and clinical trial options, information overload can be overwhelming. For that reason, we created this printable pdf document with questions to ask your doctor about clinical trials. We hope this sheet comes in handy.
Megan-Claire Chase, patient advocate, shares what it is like for her to go through feelings of 'scanxiety'. She defines the term and walks through the main symptoms, highlights quotes from other patients who have 'scanxiety', provides a list of tips and tricks for friends and family to help, and gives patients some pointers on how to cope better as well. It is important to find ways to manage anxiety around monitoring scans because they are a regular part of follow-up care after a diagnosis of cancer.
Patient advocate and cancer warrior, Megan-Claire Chase shares what it’s like to have “chemo brain.” She walks through the causes and symptoms of this condition, the alternative names it can be known by (chemo fog, brain fog), and most importantly what it feels like for patients who experience it. While patients are often told chemo brain is temporary, many patients have shared that they notice the effects for long periods of time after. The results of chemo brain can sometimes be funny, but they can also be debilitating. Megan-Claire shares some things patients can do to counteract chemo brain, and closes by discussing why clinical trials are so important for helping patients suffering from chemo brain in the future.
We were privileged to meet Allison Watkins, a breast cancer survivor AND experienced oncology nurse to discuss her experience on both sides of the exam table. She answered our questions about why she become a nurse, how her perspective and patient care mentality changed after becoming a cancer patient herself, and how any patient can make the most of the time with their care team (hint: write down your questions ahead!). Keep reading to find out about her unique experience and perspective on cancer care.
As a part of Movember and in collaboration with holistic cancer support company Natia, we sat down with yoga instructor Mario Austin to ask a few questions about yoga, men’s health and how cancer patients, survivors, and just about everyone can benefit from incorporating yoga into their routines.
Metastatic Breast Cancer patient, Flori Hendron, shares her experience finding and participating in clinical trials and compares it with shopping at her favorite store, where the customer service is unparalleled. Flori notes that clinical trials offer an amazing opportunity for patients but that they still have a long way to go in terms of patient-centricity and appreciation. “Insider scoop” tips and tricks on clinical trials are shared in this helpful and highly personal patient experience blog post.
Toral Shah, Founder of The Urban Kitchen, and thought leader in nutrition and cancer, guest blogs for Ancora.ai on the links between nutrition, immune health, and cancer. She introduces key concepts around the immune system and the gut microbiome, recommends the Mediterranean diet to promote gut health, and notes the importance of maintaining adequate vitamin D levels. Read more to access Toral’s top tips for busy people who want to protect their gut and immune health and prevent cancer.
Patient advocate and cancer warrior, Megan-Claire Chase shares her top 5 lessons learned as a breast cancer patient in recognition of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Cancer is more than just fun runs and pink tutus, young people get it too, metastatic breast cancer still has huge unmet needs, while helping others is important as a patient you have to prioritize your own self care, and cancer can change you. She concludes with one, empowering message: our stories matter.
The founder of a group to help raise awareness of the risks of prostate cancer in black men shares her family’s experience after her father became a terminal prostate cancer patient. She notes that black men have double the chances of getting prostate cancer but that few people know about this. Clinical trials are crucial for improving our understanding of the specific risks of cancers and the best treatments in different population groups.
Patient advocate and cancer warrior, Megan-Claire Chase, talks about the struggles of being an Adolescent or Young-Adult (AYA) cancer patient, and explains how she was able to work through them by joining AYA support groups and by expressing herself on social media, thereby making “authentic and amazing connections”.
Prostate cancer survivor and advocate, Gogs Gagnon, discusses how important it is for men to get regular prostate cancer screening, so that a potential cancer is detected before it spreads.
Abigail Johnston, a Metastatic Breast Cancer patient and an active cancer advocate, talks about her experience with clinical trials in the past few years. She explains all that she’s learned while looking for and participating in clinical trials, and she shares valuable recommendations for other cancer patients.
In August 2020, Megan-Claire Chase, a cancer survivor and patient advocate, interviewed Mary Clare, a cancer survivor, about her experience participating in clinical trials. Mary Clare is a patient advocate and educator who lives in Chicago. She is a two-time AML leukemia survivor, who’s also had two stem cell transplants, and now a big part of her life is helping other cancer and stem cell patients through their journey. Mary Clare explains how she felt empowered by participating in clinical trials, and how they were always very patient-centered. She is proud of making a difference in cancer research.
Patient advocate and cancer warrior, Megan-Claire Chase, describes how the coronavirus pandemic has made living as a cancer patient even more difficult. She explains from her personal experience how the uncertainty, grief, and anxiety that patients already feel has been intensified as COVID-19 has dominated life these past few months. In particular, she highlights the toll that isolation and lack of socialization can have during the pandemic as well as in “normal” times for cancer patients.
Patient advocate and cancer warrior, Megan-Claire Chase, explains her experiences with dealing with insurance issues after a diagnosis of cancer. She highlights challenges having testing covered, difficulties of being an AYA (young adult) patient, and strategies to communicate with doctors and advocate for yourself. Her message is clear: you have a right as a patient to appeal insurance decisions, along with your medical team, to advocate for the care you need, although this is not always easy or straightforward.
In August 2020, Ticking Off Breast Cancer and Ancora.ai went LIVE together on Instagram to discuss all things clinical trials and answer questions from the community. You can watch the replay on YouTube, and check out the recap of the Q&A discussion below.
Ancora.ai sat down with Jessica Buscho, a California-based colon cancer patient and advocate, to discuss her experience being on a clinical trial during an unprecedented pandemic. She highlighted key challenges around finding a trial, enrolling, traveling to the site frequently, managing childcare, and paying for accommodation. These issues raise concerns about health inequalities for underserved populations, but Jessica also noted that more remote, digital trials could benefit all patients, even after the pandemic is under control.
For years, surgery and radiation have been the two mainstream options for prostate cancer, but there have been significant advancements in other treatment options. As a prostate cancer survivor, I feel it’s essential for men to research all their options, including clinical trials, before deciding on treatment. No longer should clinical trials be considered a last resort option.
Becoming involved in cancer advocacy can be rewarding but also draining. In this article we summarize a patient’s experience with how she decides when to say yes and when to say no to incoming requests and also how to prioritize care of her health.
Each year, ASCO holds its Annual Meeting which is considered to be the biggest annual cancer conference. It is attended by more than 30,000 professionals from the oncology field who gather to exchange information about the latest advances made in cancer research and cancer care. The meeting is usually held in Chicago, however due the coronavirus pandemic, it was decided that the 2020 edition would be held virtually. In this article, we summarized some of the most significant treatment advances presented at ASCO 2020.
Choice of treatment option for metastatic recurrent cervical cancer is sparse. Development of new treatments is urgently needed. New therapies are currently under investigation in clinical trials and are showing some encouraging early results.
Today (April 17, 2020), the FDA has approved the use of tucatinib (Tukysa™), in combination with chemotherapy drugs trastuzumab and capecitabine, for the treatment of patients with HER2+ breast cancer that is unresectable or has spread to other parts of the body, including the brain, and who have already received at least one prior treatment for metastatic cancer.
Today (April 22, 2020) and more than a month ahead of our expectation, the FDA has approved the use of sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy) for the treatment of adult patients with triple-negative breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and who have already received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease. The approval was based on the results of a clinical trial of 108 patients with mTNBC, which showed that 33.3% of the patients had a certain amount of tumor shrinkage and three patients showed a complete response to Trodelvy, meaning the cancer became undetectable
The coronavirus pandemic is a challenge for many of us, but people with cancer now face two enemies. Because of a depressed immune system, people with cancer have a higher risk of developing serious complications if they are infected with the virus. For this reason, they have been asked to stay away from hospitals, many having their check-ups and treatments postponed.
I found out yesterday I tested positive for COVID-19. I am 65. I have virtually no symptoms and I feel normal. I wanted to tell my story so others can learn from my experience.
A clinical trial is a study of a new medication, protocol or device to evaluate whether it is safe and effective. Trials follow a set development pathway with different phases (0-4). This article will give you an overview of what happens in each phase as well as the pros and cons of participating in each phase.
The US FDA has recently granted priority review for capmatinib, a treatment being investigated for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a METex14 amplification and/or mutation. If approved, this would be the first drug on the market targeting this specific mutation, which accounts for 3-4% of all newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC cases and is associated with a particularly poor prognosis due to lack of existing treatment options.